


The Beach can be a Dangerous Place

by buttsfodays



Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Beaches, Child Neglect, Fluff, Gyms, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Injury, M/M, Past Drug Addiction, Past Drug Use, Underage Drinking, WATCH OUT BOIS WE'RE GETTING ANGSTY, exercise, oof i'm sorry, unfortunate frisbee accident
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-05-13 06:04:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 30,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14743341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buttsfodays/pseuds/buttsfodays
Summary: Tweek is forced into a relaxing day at the beach where he meets a cute boy.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first story. This idea just popped into my head, and I felt the really strong urge to write it. I'm kind of making it up as I go along because I am awful at planning ahead.  
> If you notice any errors or anything, feel free to let me know so I can fix it.  
> Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

                Tweek was relieved; he’d finally made it through all of his Thursday classes. He left his music theory class with a skip in his step, excited by the notion that he had no classes the next day. He continued to be immensely proud of himself every week for managing to work a day completely free of classes into his schedule. Friday was usually the one day he got to truly relax since he had his home and classwork along with his job at the Harbucks near campus every other day of the week. However, that Friday was going to be different. Tomorrow he had plans to go to the beach.

                His best friend, Bebe, had convinced him that instead of his usual routine of lying in bed all day drinking his favorite coffee and watching conspiracy documentaries or his favorite cartoons until he went to sleep some time long after the sun had gone down, he should go out and actually do something.

“I mean, we’ve been here for a few months already, and you haven’t even been once! What’s the good of being in LA if you aren’t gonna go to the beach?! You have to go at least _once_!” she’d urged over lunch on Tuesday. And Tweek couldn’t help but disagree completely with that notion. _Didn’t she know that there are sharks in the ocean? What about sea lice? That shit itches! And what about the water? Fish pee in there! And the beach is always packed with people. He can’t handle being around that many people for an extended period of time._

                Unfortunately for Tweek, though, at his strong refusal of a trip to the beach, Bebe only doubled down on her begging.

**Come on! It’ll be fun! You don’t even have to go in the water!**

                She tried to bargain through text Wednesday morning. As much as Tweek adored his best friend, he really didn’t want to deal with her begging this early in the morning. He had an hour long French lecture in thirty minutes, and he couldn’t handle being pestered to endure the sandy landscape while also struggling to take notes that both make sense and are legible. _What if he missed something important in the lesson because he was too busy trying to avoid her insistence? He’d probably end up failing his next test which would ultimately lead to him failing the course and having to retake it--_

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. The last thing he needed right now was a fucking panic attack. Tweek had been doing pretty well so far this semester, and he wasn’t going to let something so stupid ruin all his hard work.

**Think of all the hot guys that’ll be there!**

                That argument certainly wasn’t going to work. Tweek wasn’t exactly the type to ogle at beach going guys with sweaty bodies and overly tanned skin. The men he imagined he’d find at the beach, especially in California, weren’t exactly his type. Of course, he’d never actually _been_ to the beach, so he couldn’t really be sure if that was right. He wasn’t really too keen to test his theories, though.

                His phone buzzed with another text from Bebe, pulling him out of his thoughts.

**Plus, it’s been so long since we’ve hung out off campus. You owe me a fuckin girls’ day!**

                He sighed, reading the messages. Of course, Bebe was guilt tripping him into a fun afternoon at the beach. Why the hell wouldn’t she?

**i'm not evne s gIrl  b ebe**

                She, of course, immediately shot back with

**TWEEK TWEAK YOU ARE COMING WITH ME TO THE BEACH FRIDAY AND YOU’RE GOING TO ENJOY IT. NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS!**

                Begrudgingly, he typed out another (barely comprehensible) message with shaking hands as he made his way to his lecture hall. He knew it was a losing battle, so he might as well give up. Besides, maybe a relaxing day at the beach would be good for him.

 **fIen. but  im nt goiing inn t he  watwr anf y ou cant make me**  
  


                 Friday morning, Tweek awoke to the sound of his automatic coffeemaker beginning to brew. He stretched, feeling the vertebrae in his spine pop almost painfully, before reaching for his phone. The cracked phone screen displayed three texts from Bebe from not even 10 minutes ago.

**TWEEK!**

**TWEEK WAKE UP!**

**TWEEK I’LL BE THERE AT 11 WAKE UP AND BE READY!**

                He knew he had two hours because his coffee maker’s set to start at 9 every morning so it’s ready in time for him to leave for his first class. Instead of immediately getting up, he decided to lay in bed and wait for his coffee to finish brewing while he caught up on the news on his phone. When he heard the telltale sound of the last drops of coffee filtering through the machine, he finally got up to pour his liquid lifeforce into his favorite mug (a black mug with a green alien on it over the word “BELIEVE” in thick white letters) and returned to his bed.

                He lost track of time for a little while, too caught up in the newest slew of presidential tweets, and next thing he knew, it was 10:00. Rather reluctantly, he left his bed and walked over to his dresser across the room. He dug through his drawers hoping to find something appropriate for a beach setting, although as he’d never actually been, he couldn’t really be sure what that would be. He was certain he didn’t own a single piece of swimwear, and, as this was going to be the first and hopefully last time ever going to the beach, he didn’t really care to go out and buy a pair of trunks. He also wasn’t worried about other beach materials; Bebe had assured him that, since she was a frequent beachgoer, she had everything they needed.

                Finally, he decided on a pair of light green denim overalls that he’d long ago cut into shorts and a black and white striped shirt with his dirty converse that had at one point been white. He hoped with his lack of swimwear, he could avoid being pressured into going into the water past his ankles, if at all.

                Tweek moved to the full-length mirror he hung on his closet door and ran his fingers through his long, blond hair, which was starting to get the tiniest bit greasy, in an attempt to untangle any knots that formed overnight. His hair reached just below his shoulders since he hadn’t had a haircut in a few months, and, while he preferred having longer hair to the absolute horror that was going to somewhere and letting a complete stranger anywhere near his neck with a pair of scissors, he was often annoyed by how messy it got while he slept. A sigh escaped the blond boy’s lips when he realized what an absolute disaster his hair was and decided his best bet would be to pull it all up into a loose bun.

                His phone, which he had placed on his dresser, began to vibrate against the wood while the phone’s default ringtone blared from its speakers. Tweek was so focused on taming the bird’s nest on his head that, when it went off, he jumped almost a foot in the air and let out a startled yelp. He looked at his caller ID, his heart almost pounding out of his chest, and was both a little relieved and annoyed to see that it was Bebe. Sighing, he swiped the answer button on his screen and held the receiver to his ear.

                “Mornin’, bestie! I’m outside, so get your sweet ass downstairs!” she practically shouted through the phone. Tweek reflexively held his speaker a few inches away from his ear just in time to avoid the irreversible damage to his eardrums Bebe’s yelling would likely cause. Tweek assured her he’d be down soon before hanging up. He grabbed the satchel containing his portable charger, headphones, and sunscreen before he scurried out the door, locked it, and headed downstairs to his best friend’s convertible.

                The beach was about as packed as Tweek feared it would be. Thankfully, though, Bebe knew her way around a crowded beach. Somehow, they managed to find a spot very far down the beach that was relatively empty which Tweek was eternally grateful for. It was definitely worth the fact that they’d have to walk 10 minutes just to get back to Bebe’s car.

                Looking around the area, he saw two folding chairs, cooler, and towels set up a good 10 feet ahead of them, most likely belonging to the family way down in the water. They also passed a small group of guys throwing a frisbee back and forth to each other, but they hadn’t really paid them any mind.

                As soon as Bebe had stabbed her beach umbrella into the sand like a conquistador claiming a newly discovered land, Tweek got to setting up the large beach blanket she’d brought. It thankfully was big enough for them both to sit on without having to worry about getting into each other’s personal space.

                When they finished with their little setup, Tweek claimed the space on the blanket guarded by the shade of the umbrella while Bebe began to strip down to her bathing suit, a black two-piece covered in a pattern of cherries. She ruffled through the bag she brought with her to grab a towel, tanning lotion, her phone, and a pair of headphones.

                “Hey, I’m gonna move a little further down so I can tan a little. The sun it better over there,” She said pointing further down the beach away from the direction they’d come from. “Will you be alright if I leave you alone for a little bit?”

                Tweek rolled his eyes, “Yes, Bebe. I’m capable of looking after myself for an hour. I am an adult, believe it or not.” He gave her a small smile just to assure her that he was joking and he wasn’t actually upset with her. He actually greatly appreciated her concern for his well being most of the time. “Go tan. One of us has to look hot, and it certainly isn’t gonna be me.”

                She stuck out her tongue at him playfully before patting his head and striding off to where she apparently felt she would get the best sun, sliding her earbuds into place.

                When he was alone, sitting on the blanket under the cool shade of the umbrella, he had to admit that the beach actually wasn’t too bad. There was a nice breeze coming up the shore, and it contrasted nicely to the warmth he felt on his legs where they weren’t protected by the shade. He decided to pull his noise-cancelling headphones from his bag, connect them to his phone and play his music, some ambient lo-fi hip-hop playlist he’d found on Spotify that he found relaxing. Losing himself to the tunes, he folded his legs to his chest and hugged his knees. He allowed his eyes to flutter shut while the breeze blew lightly across his skin.

                He realized soon, however, that he should’ve never let his guard down, even for a second, because as soon as he felt like he was only seconds from falling into a calm, restful sleep in the cool shade, something hard and fast came flying at him and hit him square in the face.  

                “OW! JESUS CHRIST!” he yelled as his hands came flying to his face, cupping his nose gingerly. He buried his face, still shielded by his hands, into his knees and groaned. There was a throbbing pain that started from the middle of his face and spread throughout his whole head. He could feel his headphones slipping off of his ears, but he could hardly be bothered when his music left his ears which were then flooded with the sounds of the beach: the waves crashing on the shore, seagulls chirping overhead, and people distantly chattering and generally making noise. He almost didn’t catch one specific voice nearby.

                “Clyde you fucking idiot, watch where you’re throwing!” While he couldn’t be bothered to look up to the source of the voice, too focused on the pain flaring through his goddamn face, the sound of feet sloshing through the sand toward him did catch his attention. The blond didn’t register the presence of another person near him until said person had blocked the light of the sun above him. “Holy shit, are you okay?”

                The voice was deep and nasally but definitely male, Tweek thought, and when he finally looked up to find its owner, he found himself face to face with probably the most attractive human being he’d seen in his whole life. He had short black hair with bangs that just barely hung over his eyes as he leaned over Tweek to check on him and wore a plain black t-shirt and blue swim trunks. He had bright, forest green eyes that were filled with concern as he inspected Tweek’s face while, Tweek noticed, the rest of his facial expressions remained completely apathetic, almost unimpressed.

                When Tweek was finally able to remove his hands from around his nose, the guy’s eyes widened. “Oh shit. You’re bleeding,” he said, the concern previously seen in his eyes bleeding into his speech, though it was barely perceptible as his voice was as monotone and flat as his face was stoic and unmoving. “Stay right here. I’ve got a first-aid kit in my bag. Try not to... uh... bleed everywhere, I guess. I’ll be back in a minute.”

                Tweek could only nod before he reached into Bebe’s bag to grab the other towel she’d brought and hold it to his face. He felt bad for ruining one of her beach towels, but he’d apologize rigorously to her once she came back from tanning. Surely, she’d be understanding.

                When handsome stranger guy came back, he had a large box with him that Tweek could only assume was the aforementioned first-aid kit. He gently removed the towel from Tweek’s face before opening the kit and tending to his wound. Tweek just tried his best to not stare too long at the guy out of fear of seeming creepy.

                “What’s your name?” Tweek was shocked out of his definitely-not-staring at the guy when he spoke. He winced when the other boy began to wipe around Tweek’s injury, probably cleaning off most of the blood, and began to apply an antibacterial cream to it. It took Tweek another second to realize he’d been asked a question. His name. Fuck. His name?

                “Myname’sTweek,” he rushed out in a single shallow breath. He hoped inwardly that what he said was at least halfway understandable. He felt a wave of relief, however, when the guy nodded and responded.

                “Cool. I’m Craig.”

                The newly named Craig placed a bandage over the bridge of Tweek’s nose and the corner of his lip quirked up almost imperceptibly when he was done. “I’m really sorry about that, by the way. My friends and I were throwing around a frisbee,” he points to the frisbee Tweek had no idea how he hadn’t noticed before, “Clyde, has _the worst_ aim.”

                Oh, so Craig was part of the group playing frisbee. How could Tweek have not noticed him before?

                “It’s fine. I mean, it hurts like a motherfucker, but I’ve had worse than this before,” Tweek gave a weak smile even though the movement of his face muscles hurt a little. “If you could punch your friend Clyde for me, though, that’d be wonderful” he added with a smirk.

                Craig chucked at that, “I think I can make that happen.”

                He gave Tweek another small smile before he looked over his shoulder, back at his friends. When he turned back to the blond, he stared directly into his eyes for a solid 34 seconds (not that he was counting or anything), vibrant green into soft blue, and of course Tweek could feel a blush begin to creep up onto his cheeks.

                He finally looked away, and Tweek could’ve sworn there was a light dusting of color on his olive skin, too. He cleared his throat and looked away before speaking again, “I should probably get back to them. It’s been fun… treating your wounds or whatever. See you around, I guess.” He closed his first-aid kit and grabbed the frisbee laying uselessly at Tweek’s feet before he stood and began walking away with the kit tucked securely under his left arm and the frisbee hanging loosely from his right hand. Tweek sighed and pulled his legs back up to his chest, leaning his cheek against his knees, as he watched Craig saunter away.

                Craig returned to his friends and began talking to another guy with scruffy brown hair. Tweek noticed that, unlike Craig, this guy was only wearing a pair of red shorts. Tweek was surprised, but ultimately satisfied when he saw Craig punch the guy in the arm. It had to have been a hard one, too, because almost immediately the guy, Clyde, Tweek guessed, started sobbing and rubbing his assaulted limb. Tweek was even more surprised when after Craig said something else to him, Clyde seemed to snap out of his sobbing and immediately turned to Tweek, waving with his uninjured arm. The blond gave a very timid wave in return before looking away and pushing his headphones back up to his ears.

                He looked back over at where he remembered Bebe had been and was unsurprised to see that she had missed that entire encounter. He let out an exasperated sigh; he resigned to tell her the whole story later and laid back. He surrendered himself again to the music coming through his headphones and decided to try again on that nap. While it wasn’t his typical, relaxing Friday, it had proven to be an interesting one nonetheless.

                The rest of the day was particularly uneventful. When he finally woke up, he saw Bebe a fair distance down the beach playing volleyball with a group of men and women who looked to be about their age. He was admittedly more than a little disappointed that, upon further inspection, the group of boys containing Craig were gone.

                While he and Bebe made their way back to her car, and then Tweek’s apartment after that, Tweek had recounted his beach encounter to her in vivid detail. She was jealous he got to interact with such an apparently hot piece of ass, but she was also more than a little disappointed he hadn’t gotten Craig’s number.

                Tweek only shrugged in response, dropping the subject completely. He was just excited to get back to his apartment and sleep.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tweek sees a familiar face at work.

                On Saturday, Tweek awoke once again to the sound of his coffee maker. He rolled over to check his phone on his nightstand for any notifications. As usual, there were only a couple news updates. 

                With a groan, he rose from his bed and went through his usual morning routine of getting dressed in a simple black t-shirt and jeans, pouring himself a pot of coffee, taming his hair, and brushing his teeth. He knew he had a rather long shift at Harbucks today. It definitely wasn’t something he was looking forward to, especially when he looked in the mirror and saw the bruise covering most of his nose. He’d never wished to be someone who wore, or even owned, makeup, but at this very moment in time, Tweek really regretted that he didn’t own at least one container of concealer. 

                The walk was only 15 minutes, so he left at 9:35 exactly to give himself a decent window of time before his shift actually started. 

                As always, the shop was already abuzz. There were only a few other people in the shop already working, but he knew that once the chaos died down, the shop would be relatively slow for the rest of the day. 

                At that moment, though, customers were coming and going at an almost dizzying rate. He always amazed himself with his ability to keep up with the increasingly complicated orders people seemed to conjure up. Only five customers got irritated with something he did or gave him a hard time, which is probably a record low. He was immensely proud of himself for not freaking out; his years of therapy and medication were finally paying off, it seemed.

                Tweek was very happy to find that his day was going relatively smoothly. However, around 2, things took a sharp, but not completely unpleasant turn. 

                The store was relatively empty, so Tweek took a short rest, making himself a cup of black coffee and leaning against the back counter. His coworker and friend, Kenny, a blond boy with a very dirty sense of humor which he himself found far funnier than Tweek did, was manning the other of the two registers, though since there were no customers, he’d decided his time was better spent talking to Tweek. 

                “So, I’ve been meanin’ to ask ya all day, what the sam-hell happened to your face?” Kenny asked in his usual Southern drawl. “Didn’t get in another fight did ya?” 

                Tweek subconsciously reached up to his nose and winced when he made contact. His injury hadn’t been bothering him too much, his job’s usual workload taking his mind off of the dull throb that he now felt shoot through his entire face. 

                The younger blond rolled his eyes. Kenny said that every time Tweek came into work with a new and exciting injury. He couldn’t help that he was incredibly accident prone, and he really wanted Kenny to stop asking that, like he was some sort of hooligan that just got into random brawls on the street. It was utterly ridiculous. “I told you, Kenny. It wasn’t a fight. I was boxing and the bag hit me in the face! I don’t know why think I’d just get into a fight with someone! What kind of person do you think I--”

                “Well, then just tell me what the hell happened! Don’t keep me waitin’,” Kenny cut him off; he could hear Tweek’s voice raising in both pitch and volume, and needed to put a stop to it before it got to the point where every dog in a mile radius would hear it and come running. 

                Tweek cleared his throat and apologized for his almost-outburst, his face flushing slightly in embarrassment. He then launched into the story, recounting the events of the previous day. He luckily caught himself before diving into a long soliloquy about Craig’s attractiveness, but he made sure Kenny knew that he was in fact, very  _ very _ attractive. Just talking about him had Tweek’s whole face the color of cherries. 

                It looked like Kenny was about to say something, probably teasing Tweek about his apparent crush, but he was interrupted by the ding of the bell over the store’s door. The two easily slipped into their customer service personas without much thought. It was weird how it was practically a pavlovian response for Tweek, but that was another thought for another day. 

                He almost choked on his own saliva, however, when he saw the familiar black hair and green eyes that had been in his mind since their interaction yesterday. He felt his heart pound in both excitement and terror to see Craig walking through the door of the shop.  _ Speak of the fucking devil… _

                The barista’s heart fell out of his ass when Craig glanced at the counter and instantly locked eyes with him. The noirette’s eyes widened comically at the sight of the blond, and he would’ve found it funny if he wasn’t absolutely positive his face looked exactly the same. They both stood stock still for what felt like an eternity but was, in reality, only a few seconds. 

                Their bubble was popped abruptly, however, by a brunette about Craig’s height, though a bit shorter. He seemed to have become impatient at the latter’s frozen stance blocking the entire doorway to the shop. The guy, who Tweek recognized as Clyde, shoved lightly at Craig’s shoulder, pushing him further into the store and toward the counter behind which Tweek stood. This earned him a scathing glare and a middle finger, both of which he completely ignored as he swept past Craig and up to the counter. 

                Tweek grabbed onto Kenny’s arm beside him in a vice grip. When the other blonde looked at him, Tweek tried his best to convey some kind of desperate message. What that message was, he didn’t really know. 

                Kenny just looked confused for a second before his eyes lit up in understanding. He looked back and forth between his coworker and the new customer, a huge grin appearing on his face, really showcasing the spaces between his teeth. Locking eyes once more with Tweek, he mouthed,  _ “All yours, dude.” _

                “I’m gonna take my break, that alright? Think you can handle these fellas on your own?” he asked aloud; Tweek knew that saying no wouldn’t stop Kenny’s plan. He couldn’t legally stop him from taking his break. Plus, Clyde and Craig were standing right there, and they definitely heard him. He couldn’t just beg Kenny to stay when they were  _ right there _ . “Awesome. I’ll be back in 15.” He sauntered off into the back room of the shop, giving Tweek a sly wink as he did. 

                Clyde and Craig finally reached the counter, Craig pointedly avoiding eye contact with Tweek, and Tweek trying to avoid eye contact with either of them. Clyde was eyeing where Kenny disappeared to with a look of confusion before he shrugged and turned his attention to the menu board behind Tweek.

                “Good afternoon. Welcome to Harbucks. What can I get you today?” Tweek could feel the tightness in his throat, he just hoped it wasn’t as obvious to the two boys in front of him. He put on his most convincing customer service smile, though he was sure it looked as uncomfortable as he felt. He was also struggling to fight back a wince as his face muscles stretched around his injured nose painfully. The barista knew he’d failed to hide it when brief look of guilt passed over Clyde’s face at the action.

                Clyde nodded, his guilt replaced with a grin that Tweek could only describe as ridiculously goofy and that exuded friendliness. Tweek was slightly taken aback by this, and then was thrown off again when he ordered one of their sweetest drinks and named off a laundry list of add-ons. 

                Tweek picked up a cup and marked all of the specifics to the brunet’s order in his chicken-scratch handwriting and input everything into the register. “Can I get a name?” he squeaked out, even though he already knew. He didn’t want to come off as creepy or weird. 

                “Clyde,” he replied, still grinning from ear to ear. 

                Tweek nodded as he wrote the name and set the cup to the side. He looked up again, this time to find Clyde looking back as his tall friend scanned the menu board with the same flat expression he wore yesterday. 

                While they both waited for the noirette to make his selection, Tweek was surprised to hear Clyde speak up again. “I didn’t get a chance to say it yesterday, but I’m sorry about, uh…” he pointed at his own nose before nodding in the direction of Tweek’s. 

                “Oh. Um, it’s fine. Like I told Craig yesterday, I’ve had worse,” Tweek laughed softly with a small, genuine smile on his face at Clyde’s apology. 

                “It’s a good thing Nurse Craig was there, huh? It looked like a pretty nasty gash.” Clyde gently nudged Craig, who it looked had been intentionally avoiding the conversation. He shot Clyde another glare for a split second before returning his gaze to the menu. Tweek couldn’t help but notice a blush creeping up his neck and across his cheeks. 

                Tweek giggled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. He uttered a small “Yeah…” before returning his gaze to Craig. 

                The shaking barista bit his lip as he watched Craig, taking his momentary distraction (or his desperate attempt to avoid any and all eye contact at all costs) to admire his features. His jaw was so defined and sharp that Tweek was sure it would cut him if he ever got the chance to touch it. His almost unbelievably green eyes were framed nicely by thick, black eyelashes. His lips were fucking gorgeous; they were plump, but not overly so, and had such an intense cupid’s bow.  _ God, this man was beautiful. _

                Tweek was snapped out of his Craig-induced trance by said person’s eyes snapping down from the menu to meet his own. His flush deepened when the noirette’s attention returned to him.

                “I’ll get an iced green tea, I guess,” he shrugs, his voice still as level and toneless as Tweek remembered it being. His face was still dusted pink. Tweek thought it was god damn adorable. 

                Tweek nods and picks up another cup, this one getting only the simplest of markings for Craig’s iced tea. He almost begins writing the name before he even asks, but then he second guesses himself. “Craig, right?” He really wishes he could keep the tremble out of his voice, but just knowing he was there was causing a tight feeling in his chest.  

                When he dared to look up again to meet Craig’s eyes, the noirette’s mouth quirked again in that small smile. Tweek decided in that very moment that he really  _ really _ liked that smile. 

                “Yeah, Tweek.”

                He bit his lip harder in an attempt to hold back the big smile that was threatening to break out onto his face, which at this point probably looked more like a tomato than a human face. He  _ really _ liked hearing Craig say his name. 

                Tweek was glad to occupy his hands and mind elsewhere while he punched the order into the register, but he could feel Craig’s eyes on him. He mumbled out the total of the order and took the cash when it was handed to him. 

                Tweek gave Clyde the change, trying his absolute hardest to avoid looking at Craig; he was afraid his head might actually explode if they made eye contact again. The blond watched as Clyde dropped all of his change into the tip jar sitting by the register then walk to a nearby table, Craig following close behind. 

                When Tweek took the two cups to begin the drinks, an idea popped into his head. It was such an outlandish idea for him, that he was certain it must’ve actually been implanted into his brain somehow.  _ He should write his number on Craig’s cup. Let him know that he’s interested.  _ He shook his head and stared down at Craig’s empty cup in his hand, waiting patiently to be filled with ice and tea. 

                He thought about it,  _ really _ thought about it. He  _ was _ super interested in Craig; he wanted to know absolutely everything about this beautiful human being that had rocketed into his life all of the sudden. Bebe was always telling him he had to put himself out there more. He hadn’t dated in a very long time. Maybe this was his big chance.  _ Fuck it. He had to go for it. The worst outcome was a rejection, right?  _

                Tweek steeled his nerves as he grabbed the marker again, scribbling down his phone number onto the cup before he could change his mind. He could hear the two behind him having a conversation about something. He thought he heard something about some kind of sports. Maybe it was football. He didn’t really watch football, though, so he could’ve been wrong.

                Deciding that he’d wasted enough time already, he hurriedly got to work preparing Craig’s drink first before getting to Clyde’s far more complicated order. Normally, preparing orders, even ones as complicated as Clyde’s, didn’t take him that long to make, but his hands were shaking with nerves and just a little bit of excitement. 

                Tweek somehow managed the drinks with minimal fuss and turned around to the front counter. 

                “Clyde! Craig!” he called their names into the store, mostly out of habit, even though they were both sitting at the table nearest to the counter. 

                As soon as they had taken their drinks, Tweek sunk to the ground, his back against the counter. He placed his hands against his face to feel the burning heat in his cheeks. He couldn’t stand there and watch them with their drinks, knowing Craig would definitely find his number. What would he even think?  _ He’d probably think Tweek was a freak, some kind of creeper. He’d never come back in, and Tweek would never see him again. That sounded to terrible. He made a mistake; this was a terrible idea. He should just leave this flirting shit to Kenny and Bebe.  _

                “You alright, Tweek?” 

                He was pulled back out of his spiraling thoughts by Craig’s voice above him. When he looked up, he met those vibrant green eyes peering at him over the counter. Tweek quickly scrambled to get up, nearly headbutting Craig in the process. 

                “Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Just, uh, taking a little break. It’s been a long day, ya know?” Tweek answers, practically vomiting the words onto Craig’s t-shirt. 

                Craig held his gaze for a few seconds before letting out a soft chuckle. “Whatever you say, man. How’s the nose?” he asks, gesturing to Tweek’s injured face. 

                “Oh, um, it’s fine. It only really hurts if I think about it or touch it,” Tweek has to catch his hand before it reached up to do just that. “I’ve been trying to avoid my reflection at all costs because I don’t like how messed up my face looks.” He tried a small laugh to pass it off as a bad joke, but it came out more strangled and nervous. 

                Craig looked away for a split second, but when he looked back, Tweek noticed the faintest hint of red appearing on his high cheekbones, “I think it still looks pretty good.”

                Tweek froze, he could only stare into Craig’s eyes with shock and almost disbelief.  _ Was Craig flirting with him? Was that what was happening there?  _ He felt his entire face flush. His eyes instinctively fell to the counter in front of him, as if they were physically incapable of holding eye contact with Craig anymore. He tugged on his apron without thinking, a nervous tick he hadn’t quite been able to shake, “Oh, well, um… thanks, I guess…”

                “No problem,” Craig replied almost too softly to be heard. He cleared his throat awkwardly and shifted on his feet. When he next spoke, he was clearly trying to steady his voice because it had begun to get a little shaky. “So, uh, yeah. I just wanted to say thanks for the drinks. They were really good. And, um, I’ll talk to you later.” 

                Tweek only nodded dumbly as Craig turned to walk out, grabbing Clyde, who wore a knowing grin, and practically dragging him out of the store. 

                Then it hit him.  _ He said they’d talk later. He saw the number! He must have! Did this mean he was going to text him or something? What if he called? Oh god, Tweek didn’t handle phone calls well. He was really hoping for a text.  _

                As if sensing the departure of the only other two people in the store, Kenny finally emerged from the back room to resume his position behind the other register. Really, he was probably standing directly behind the door, listening in the whole time and taking in everything. 

                With a smirk on his face and a smug look in his eyes, Kenny put on as casual a voice as he could and asked, “So how’d it go?”

                Tweek just rolled his eyes, though the dopey grin on his face was too telling on its own, and turned on his heel to head to the back room.

                “I’m going on break.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, lemme know if y'all see any errors or anything, so I can fix 'em. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and junk. 
> 
> Also, as I said in the first chapter, I don't really have this whole thing planned out.  
> Because of this, I probably won't upload chapters suuuuuper frequently? 
> 
> but if you'd like, you can talk to me on tumblr.  
> http://buttsfodays.tumblr.com/  
> or if you want some sweet SP art, my art blog.  
> http://artfobutts.tumblr.com/
> 
> So yeah. Have a lovely day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just for clarification, the text messages are in bold (like in the first chapter), but I've made Twee's messages italicized, just for further distinction between their texts in some parts.

                Tweek wasn’t able to check his phone at all during the rest of his shift, the shop got super busy again not long after Clyde and Craig’s departure. When the work day was finally over, he was so exhausted, that he passed out the second his head hit his pillow. He didn’t even have time to worry about Craig texting him, which was definitely good, because otherwise, he’d be up the whole night staring directly at his phone screen waiting for a notification.

                When he woke up the next morning, he felt especially groggy, given that he usually doesn’t even get half as much sleep as he did last night. He was so out drowsy that at first he didn’t even register the new message notification nestled in amongst the various news updates he normally gets. 

**Hey.**

                He stared at the message for a second, attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes.  _ What the fuck?  _ It took him a second, but eventually, it really registered in his brain. His eyes shot open to the size of sand dollars.  _ Was that Craig? Did he actually text Tweek so soon?  _ Tweek was expecting maybe a day or so before his first actual contact, but there he was reading the proof otherwise. 

                Well, it could’ve been him; he hadn’t left his name or anything in the message. It had to be, though. He didn’t give out his number a lot. _But it could be some weird stalker or something who got his number. Or maybe Craig threw his cup out somewhere, and someone found it and it texting him to mess with him. Oh god._

                Tweek looked at the time on the message; it was received in the middle of the night.  _ Jeez whoever this was stayed up late. Maybe he’s a night owl. He wasn’t really one to talk, though, because he was usually up until the earliest morning hours. He really needed to make sure.  _

_**is ths craig** _

                Tweek couldn’t help but gnaw on his already bitten down nail beds in anticipation while he willed a new message to appear on his screen. He sat in his bed, unblinking and staring at his phone for a good fifteen minutes until he came to the realization that Craig-- or whoever that person was-- probably wasn’t even awake yet if he was up so late. 

                He checked the time on his phone and decided that he should probably start getting ready for work. While his boss didn’t really get upset with him for being late, he was really proud of his current streak of punctuality. 

                Tweek always shuddered when he recalled his earlier days at that Harbucks, when the stress of moving away from his entire family piled on top of a full college and work load took a very serious toll on his anxiety. He was eternally grateful for his manager being so lenient with him back then, so once he got a handle on everything, he wanted to be the best employee the guy could ask for. 

                So, he followed his normal morning routine, getting up, getting dressed, and leaving right on time. He was disappointed that, even by the time he’d left, he hadn’t received a reply from (maybe) Craig. 

                He decided to call Bebe on his way to work, she was always up at the ass crack of dawn to go for a run and watch the sun rise. How she did that everyday, Tweek had no godly idea, but he was still thankful for it on days like this when he actually had some gossip for her. 

                His best friend, of course, answered after the first ring, and Tweek launched into his story about yesterday as soon as she’d finished her usual “Mornin’, bestie!” greeting. As always, she listened intently on the other end of the line until Tweek finished, only adding in gasps and girlish squeals whenever necessary. She’d always been a great listener whenever Tweek had something he really needed to talk about. 

                He concluded his tale with the text messages this morning, and his unfortunate lack of reply so far. Harbucks was coming into view, though, so he knew he would have to hang up soon. 

                “Bebe, I gotta let you go. I’m almost at work,” he told his friend over the phone. 

                “Sure thing, babe. And don’t worry about him not responding to you or whatever. Don’t sweat it. He’s probably just asleep still because he’s probably just not a morning person. And yes, I think it is definitely him because no one’s stalking you and there’s no way he didn’t immediately put your number in his phone right after he left the store. It sounds to me like he’s totally and completely into you, and will message you back whenever he gets the chance,” she assured Tweek gently. She always gave him the best advice with any and all of his problems, so he had no reason to not feel comforted by her words. 

                He nodded, forgetting that she couldn’t see him through the phone, “Yeah. Thanks, Bebe. I’ll keep you updated.” With that he hung up the phone and walked into his workplace right on time. 

                The day passed slowly after the initial morning rush. Kenny was also working again today, so they talked a little once the last few customers either went to find tables or grabbed their drinks and left. Of course the conversation eventually gravitated to Craig, and while Tweek would normally avoid any and all talk about his love life with this particular blond, he was thankful for the change in topic. He hadn’t checked his phone in a while. 

                Instead of answering Kenny’s questioning about the progress of his crush, he held up a single finger, signalling Kenny to wait, while he pulled out his phone. 

                He bit his lip in anticipation when he looked at his screen; there were not one, but two messages waiting for him, both from the same number. 

**Yeah.**

**I guess probably should’ve started with that. Sorry.**

                Tweek’s face almost split in half with a smile when he read the messages. It  _ was _ Craig. The message only came in a few minutes ago, so luckily he hadn’t left Craig hanging for a long time. He looked up at Kenny who only had an eyebrow raised in question at Tweek’s elated expression. 

                Tweek turned the phone screen on Kenny, letting him read the very short message thread. 

                “Damn, Tweek, you got his digits? Color me impressed,” he said, giving Tweek a little smirk. 

                “Yeah, I may or may not have used your move and wrote my number on his cup yesterday,” Tweek blushed a little still at the memory. It only worsened when he met Kenny’s dumbfounded expression. 

                Kenny was known for being incredibly flirtatious to just about everyone indiscriminately. Tweek was all too familiar with his methods, having watched him flirt with countless customers that walk through that door. He had actually seen Kenny use  _ that exact method _ on someone just last week, and that might have been where he got the idea. 

                “ _ You _ gave him your number? With  _ my  _ move?” Kenny was not trying to hide the surprise in his voice at all, like he just wanted to make completely sure the person standing in front of him was actually Tweek Tweak who could barely handle social interactions outside of his job, let alone  _ flirting _ with someone he barely knew. “Well, fuck me sideways, Tweek. I think I’m startin’ to rub off on ya.” 

                “Then maybe I need to stop hanging out with you so much,” Tweek replied giving Kenny the side-eye. 

                Kenny pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, “I’m so proud. My little boy’s growin’ up!”

                He stuck out his tongue at the other blond before turning his attention back onto his phone where he still hadn’t responded to Craig. 

_**o its oksy i jusst wantd t omke surw** _

**_im sory i  suckat typng_  **

                He didn’t really talk to many people over text. It was much easier for him to talk to people (well, his friends) in person. He was always especially worried about  _ texting _ new people because he could never be sure whether or not they would make fun of how he typed. Craig didn’t seem the type, though. He  _ really _ hoped Craig wasn’t the type. 

                He was surprised however, when his phone vibrated in his hand. 

**It’s all good. I can understand all it well enough.**

                Tweek let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in. Of course Craig wouldn’t make fun of him. A small smile found its way inching across his face.  

_**thata a reliwf** _

_**sometim s peopl dot respomd** _

_**to m e** _

_**becaus they can t undrstad wat i type** _

                Shit, he needed to stop sending so many messages. He knew he had a habit of double (or quadruple) texting that took a while to get used to. Bebe admitted to him not too long ago that sometimes she waits five to ten minutes to respond to his messages just to make sure he was completely done with his thoughts, and he actually really appreciated it.  

_                 It was probably fine. Craig seemed like a chill guy, he was probably totally cool with it, right? God, he really needed to stop overthinking this. _

**Wow, what assholes. It isn’t really that hard. It’s kind of like a cypher or something, and those are fun to figure out. But instead of just getting some message left by some weird old guy, it’ll be a message from you. And that’s pretty cool.**

_                 Wow. Okay.  _ That was the most Craig had ever said to him, and probably also the most flattering. His face felt like it was on fire.  _ Fuck. _ It really didn’t help that he could sense Kenny reading over his shoulder. 

                Just as he was about to reply, though he really had no idea what to say, a swarm of people flooded the store again. He had to begrudgingly return his phone to his pocket and return to his post at the registers with Kenny. He immediately felt bad that he wouldn’t be able to answer him for a while. 

                Unfortunately, the universe was not on Tweek’s side that day. As sometimes happened, the rest of the day at Harbucks was jam packed. If Tweek wasn’t ringing up a customer’s order or making their drinks, he was cleaning up messes from their accidents. 

                Of course that day had to be the most stressful day of the week. There was always one, and it looked like it decided to hold off to the very last day. Yeah, it was busy yesterday later in the day, but not nearly as bad as then. And on top of all things he had to do at his job, he couldn’t stop thinking about that unanswered message.  _ He had a cute boy to talk to! He didn’t have time for this kind of bullshit right now! _

                When his work day was done, and he finally got back to his apartment, he immediately put on a pot of coffee and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He refused to let his exhaustion get in the way of talking to Craig today.

_**im si sory** _

_**woork hgot craz y** _

_**WHY T H HEL DI SOP MA NY PEEPL NED COFFRE AN TEA ON A SUNDAU** _

_**arent sunda ys supposwd t ob erelaxwd????** _

_**im so hapy to be donr** _

                He felt out of breath from just sending those text messages. He usually doesn’t get to vent to anyone about his work days once they’re over. He could call Bebe, but she’s usually either out doing something or studying. He honestly could’ve kept ranting for a long time if left unchecked. 

**That sucks. I’m glad you’re home, though. Sounds like a stressful day.**

                Tweek poured himself a cup of coffee and gulped half of it down in one go before replying. 

_**IT WAD** _

_**al l i wantrd wa a cakm fuvkingh day beforr mt classed teomortow** _

_**fucvk** _

_**somerines i hat e mu job** _

                He downed the other half of his coffee, got another cup, then curled up under the covers of his bed. 

**I’m sorry. If you don’t mind my asking, what’re you are school for?**

                Tweek was very happy for the subject change; he really didn’t want to think about work anymore. 

                His next reply was the start of a very  _ very  _ long conversation between the two. Tweek told Craig he was going to school for music performance, Craig said he was going for film, and they both learned that they went to the same college. However, while Tweek was a freshman, Craig was a sophomore. 

                This topic eventually somehow lead them onto the topics of favorite music and films, which somehow lead them into talking about general hobbies and daily activities outside of school. 

                Tweek was a little surprised to learn that Craig had a part-time job at the nearby animal shelter, and he couldn’t even believe how much better it sounded than his own job. Although, he did have to admit that being around so many animals for a long period of time probably wouldn’t be great for his anxiety. 

**It’s not too bad, actually. Most of the animals are pretty well behaved. Maybe one day you can come by, and I can introduce you to some of my favorite furry bois.**

                Tweek imagined that a day being shown cute animals by Craig would be absolutely amazing. 

_**yeag id reaaly likr that** _

                Tweek and Craig kept talking into the very early hours in the morning. They talked about anything and everything they could think of, and Tweek honestly couldn’t remember ever enjoying a conversation with someone more (sorry, Bebe). 

                He, unfortunately, ended up falling asleep at some point in the middle of a conversation about Craig’s pet guinea pigs, Stripe and Andromeda, but was more than thrilled by the messages he found when he woke up a few hours later. 

**Yeah, it’s fucking adorable. They make this wheeking sound because they’re hungry or they want attention, and then when I take them out, they jump around wheeking until I give them food. And they stuff their little cheeks. It’s probably the most adorable thing I’ve seen in my life. I love them so much.**

                Then there was about half an hour between that and the next one. 

**I just realized that it’s the ass crack of dawn, and you probably fell asleep. Good night. I probably won’t be awake when you wake up tomorrow, but text me anyway. I hope you have a good morning.**

                He couldn’t help the goofy smile on his face. 

_**sorru fir falli g aslerp** _

_**goi  dmornign** _

                He remembered Craig saying that he never chose classes that took place before noon, so he probably wouldn’t be awake for a couple hours. 

                He set his phone back down on his nightstand before stretching his arms out above his head, feeling a few cracks in his spine.  He gets up out of his bed, quickly throwing on a large maroon sweater and a pair of black jeans. 

                Tweek was very fortunate to be someone who learned to function on very little amounts of sleep. Yeah, anyone could definitely tell he only slept a few hours most nights judging by the deep purple bags under his eyes permanently decorating his face and his slightly sunken in features. What really made it at all possible for him to get through the say was his coffee, so he poured the entire pot into his oversized travel mug. 

                His first class was a French lecture, which he enjoyed a lot. It was a relatively easy class for him because he took some French in high school. He always made sure to get to class early so he could get a seat in the back of the classroom, farthest away from the teacher. She was a short, portly woman with a very loud voice, and sometimes if Tweek had to sit closer to the front, he’d jump every time she started speaking. Plus, she had a very intimidating stare, and the further back he is, the less likely he is to earn it on himself. 

                Before class started, however, another boy sat down next to him, Kyle.  He’s a very smart and diligent student, and he often also helps Tweek with work when he has problems, or vice versa, or lets him copy his notes if he misses anything (which unfortunately does happen rather often). Kyle and Tweek also study together before tests and quizzes because they’ve found that they both work well together. He usually tried to sit next to Tweek in class, and often tries to get in pleasant, casual conversations before the lecture starts. Tweek likes to consider them friends, even though they don’t hang out that much if it isn’t about their shared class (mostly Tweek’s choice, as he doesn’t hang out with just about anyone often). 

                “Hey, Tweek. Good morning,” he greets as he slides into the seat and begins getting his materials out from his backpack. They still had a good twenty minutes before class started, but Kyle just liked to be prepared.

                “Morning, Kyle,” he replied giving his ginger friend a smile. “How are you today?” 

                The other boy shrugged, “I’m alright, I guess. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night because I was studying for a test.” 

                Tweek nodded, “Yeah neither did I, but I was up all night talking to someone.” He looked down at the table and took a gulp of his coffee. 

                Kyle looked surprised to say the least. That certainly seemed out of the ordinary for Tweek, so he was expecting that kind of reaction. Tweek shrunk away from his friend’s intense gaze, though he couldn’t help the smile on his face while doing so. 

                They usually didn’t talk about their relationships (not that Tweek really had one to begin with), but every once in a while during a study or homework session Kyle’s relationship will come up. One of his partners will text him about some kind of issue at their shared apartment or tell him they’re making a dinner that he’ll be particularly fond of. He’d never actually met Stan or Wends, Kyle’s partners, but they sounded like wonderful people who Kyle really cared about and Tweek has expressed he would like to meet one day. 

                However, as sweet as it was hearing little things about Kyle’s relationship, sometimes they were so sweet and emotionally gooey that it just made Tweek feel lonely. He never said anything about it; he didn’t want to criticize someone talking about their own happiness, but he knew Kyle could tell that it got to him sometimes. Kyle was very perceptive. Tweek was also aware that Kyle genuinely cared about Tweek’s happiness, like most of his friends, so he thought it would be good to let him in on the goings on in the past few days. 

                The redhead leaned over, gently bumping their shoulders together, “Was it a  _ boy _ ?” 

                Tweek blushed at the question and nodded his head.

                “Yeah, um, his name’s Craig. I met him at the beach when his friend hit me in the face with a frisbee,” he mumbled softly and pointed at his nose, where he thankfully now only had a deep red scab and bruising around the immediate area. “Then he and that friend came into my work the next day, and I gave him my number. I fell asleep texting him last night.” He really tried, but he couldn’t fight the flush threatening to spread over his entire face.  _ Damn his fair complexion.  _

                Kyle smiled brightly and placed a hand on Tweek’s shoulder, “Dude! That’s awesome! I mean, not that you got in the face with a frisbee, obviously, but Craig!” 

                Tweek nodded, he really wanted to go on talking, something he  _ really  _ wasn’t used to, but he looked up to the front of the classroom where the teacher announced that she was about to start teaching. 

                “I’ll tell you more about it after class,” he whispered as he opened his notebook to the first available blank page and began taking notes.

                The class passed by fairly quickly for him which was a relief. He and Kyle decided to go together to a small cafe on campus to get something to eat before they had to go to their next classes. Tweek had an hour and a half before his piano instruction class, and Kyle had about fifty minutes before he had to leave for his coding class. So they both had plenty of time to talk. 

                On their way to the cafe, Kyle was asking a bunch of questions about Craig that Tweek found himself more than happy to answer. They kept talking even after they’d sat down with their food, Kyle listening intently as Tweek gushed. He couldn’t stop himself, and he really didn’t want to. He hadn’t been this attracted to anyone in his life, and the last time he felt anything even close was in freshman year of high school,  _ but he didn’t really like to think about that. _ He wasn’t sure how that had happened so soon, but he definitely couldn’t deny the fluttering in his chest when he thought about seeing or talking to Craig. 

                “He sounds like quite a guy. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk this much,” Kyle said with a smile as Tweek finished recounting his night-long conversation with Craig. 

                Tweek blushed and smiled, looking down at the table in slight embarrassment. “Yeah, he’s, uh, pretty great so far,” when he spoke, Tweek’s voice was almost inaudible. He took a bite of the small pastry he’d gotten just to keep his mouth occupied, lest he go off on another tangent about Craig. 

                It really was weird. He had only known Craig for, what, four days? It already felt like he’d known him for years at this point. He didn’t know why, but he really didn’t care. He was cautiously optimistic that his feelings weren’t completely one-sided, and something great could potentially come out of this. 

                He almost jumped at the feeling of his phone vibrating in his back pocket, he was so lost in his own thoughts. He pulled it out, and his face immediately split into a wide grin. 

**Good morning.**

                “I’m gonna take a guess and say that’s him,” Kyle said with a knowing smirk. He went to stand up, grabbing his trash and his bag. “I’m gonna go. I gotta get to class.” 

                Tweek just blinked at him for a second before looking back at his phone to check the time.  _ Holy shit did he just spend fifty minutes talking about Craig? He didn’t even notice that Kyle had finished his own breakfast pastry. Fuck, he needed to get his shit together. _

                “Oh, yeah. I guess I’ll see you around, then?” Tweek said, looking up at his redheaded friend. 

                Kyle nodded with a quick wave and left, leaving Tweek on his own at the cafe table. 

                Tweek turned back to his phone and smiled before typing. 

_**goof morni nh** _

_**hiw dif yo u slep** _

                While he waited for a reply, he went back into his thoughts. He wondered if Craig thought about him as much as he’d been thinking about Craig.  _ Was is weird to be thinking about him this much? Would Craig think he was weird? Oh god. What if Craig thought it was weird and creepy? It is weird and creepy. Fuck.  _

                His phone buzzed again. 

**I slept pretty well, I guess. I had a weird dream that I was an astronaut floating around in space, and I found a planet full of these sentient plants. And you were one of the plants. But you kept talking about farming? I think the plants were on this planet because they left earth as a strike or something. I don’t really remember all the details.**

                Tweek couldn’t help but laugh at that. What the fuck kind of dream bullshit was that? 

_**wad i at leadt a prettu pla nt** _

_**ivr alwaus wa nted to  b ea fliwr** _

 

**I think you were a sunflower or something. Maybe it was because of your hair.**

                He took a lock of hair between his fingers and looked at it for a second, contemplating.

_**i ghues tht majes sense** _

 

**So how was your morning?**

                Tweek told him about his morning so far: only waking up and his class really. He thought briefly about not mentioning that he was talking about him.  _ Would he be flattered? Would he think Tweek was weird and stop talking to him? Fuck. There was only one way to really find out. _

_**i told mt frienf kyle aboyt yiu** _

_**i reallu hipe i did nt annoiy him** _

_**i taljed kind if alot** _

                He bit his lip as he waited for a response. He really hoped Craig didn’t find it as creepy as he himself was starting to fear it was. 

                When the next message came in he was almost too scared to look at it.  _ Almost. _

**Yeah, I think Clyde is annoyed with me. I’ve been kind of talking about you a lot too, and he’s usually my go-to guy when it comes to emotional developments in my life. Last night he was getting pretty irritated because he was trying to sleep, but I just couldn’t stop.**

                Tweek’s face could’ve lit up the entire fucking city.  _ Craig didn’t think he was creepy. Craig was talking about him  _ too _.  _

                He was about to type a reply, but another message came in, which was surprising. Craig usually didn’t send multiple messages. 

**That actually reminds me. I’m working this Friday, and I remember you said you don’t have classes or work on Fridays. So, I kinda wanted to ask if you wanted to come by the shelter for a little while around closing to see those animals I told you about. And then maybe we could go get something to eat?**

**If you want, that is.**

**You don’t have to.**

                He stared at his phone for a second, rereading the message over and over again. 

_**arw yiu aski g mu iut on a datr** _

                Tweek is a little surprised at how long it takes Craig to respond to that question, especially given the answer. 

**Yeah. I am.**

                Unlike Craig, Tweek takes no time in responding. 

_**oh** _

_**the n yreah** _

_**defi nitely** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope y'all enjoyed.   
> Lemme know if you see any mistakes or anything so I can fix them. Also, if any of Tweek's texts are too difficult to understand, let me know so I can either make them easier to understand or provide a quick translation. I tried my best to make them just the right amount of messed up to still be understandable. 
> 
> If you'd like, you can talk to me on tumblr.  
> http://buttsfodays.tumblr.com/  
> or if you want some of my sweet SP art, my art blog.  
> http://artfobutts.tumblr.com/
> 
> Have a lovely day~


	4. Chapter 4

                Tweek went on with the rest of the week in almost the same fashion he always did. The only difference was that now he had the absolute joy of talking to Craig.  After the first day, they fell into a sort of routine. 

                Tweek, usually woke up first, Craig liked to sleep in late most days if he could. The blonde usually had one or two messages waiting for him, one being a continuation of whatever conversation they were having that Tweek most likely fell asleep in the middle of, and the other saying goodnight. He always texted Craig a “good morning” for when he eventually woke up. 

                Then, Tweek would go about his day diligently taking notes in his classes or putting his full effort into his musical instruction, determined to keep up his good grades (his mom always warned him not to let himself get distracted by boys, and he would always laugh. As any boy could overpower his crippling fear of failure). 

                At some point on Tuesday the two had added eachother on snapchat, using the app to send photos and videos back and forth to each other, Tweek sending videos of his piano playing or the coffee shop and Craig sending videos “on set” of the short film he’d been working on or animals at the shelter when he was working.

                Those were Tweek’s favorite days. There were so many different types of animals it was insane! Craig sent him a video once of a ferret crawling around on him that Tweek thought was absolutely fucking adorable. Watching Craig’s videos and even just talking to him was making him more and more excited for their date. 

_                 Jesus Christ. He was going on an actual date. Fuck.  _

                As excited as he was for the event, he couldn’t help but also feel a building sense of anxiousness. He knew in the logical parts of his brain that it was going to be fine. Craig was a wonderful guy, there would be cute animals, and he’d get to go out to eat afterwards. Craig had suggested they go to a small diner near his work that was open 24 hours (“Diner food is the best food, and this is the best diner food.”). 

                When Friday came, Tweek was a nervous wreck all day. Craig was working most of the day, but Tweek wouldn’t be coming by until the evening, so he had the entire day to sit in his dorm and stew with the possibilities this date would bring. Of course, his common sense was telling that everything would go fine; he’d go to the shelter, he’d get to pet some adorable animals, and then he’d get to eat some great food all with the company of an insanely attractive boy who he really enjoyed talking to. 

                Unfortunately, the voices in the back of his head kept shouting all of the things that could go wrong with that plan.  _ What if he was walking to the shelter, and someone driving on the street had a heart attack and crashed into him? What if once he got to the shelter it turned out all of the animals hated him and one of them tried to attack him? What if something went wrong in the diner and he ended up somehow getting poisoned? What if he saw Craig and after five minutes he decided that Tweek isn’t really as interesting in person?  _ The last idea was by far the tamest, but that also made it the most probable. That alone made it all the more terrifying to think about. 

                He decided around noon that he should probably distract himself, so he brewed himself another pot of coffee and curled up under his covers with his laptop. He decided he was going to watch some B horror movies, the best and the worst. He had a bunch saved on his computer, all purchased legally because he was too terrified of being caught pirating movies to even try. 

                He made it through few movies before he got a message from Craig on snapchat. It was a video taken in the shelter’s play area where he was playing fetch with one of the pups that had been brought to the shelter that week. There were other dogs running around in the background, but that one pup was the focus of the video. The words “Busy day.” were written at the bottom of the screen throughout the video. Tweek couldn’t help but smile at the video; the animals were so goddamn adorable. 

                He took a picture of his laptop screen, bearing the title of his newest selection, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and typed “me too.” 

                Not even a minute later, Craig replied. The picture was an extreme close up of one widened, green eye, “I love that movie.” 

                Tweek responded with a close up of his own, wide, blue-green eye, “me too.” 

                Craig’s next message was a blurry picture of the same puppy from earlier running away from the camera, probably chasing a toy Craig had thrown, “We should watch it sometime.”

                Tweek took a picture of the screen again, “yeah maybe” 

                Craig didn’t respond again for the remainder of the movie, he probably got busy again. Tweek didn’t mind that much, though, because he got to focus on the movie again. 

                Once it was over, he noticed the time. He knew that if he wanted to be punctual, he should start getting ready now, and, as terrified as he was of everything that could go wrong, he needed to just suck it up. He’d let his fear keep him from anything good for too long now; he refused to let it go on any longer. So he got up from his bed, closing his laptop as he did, and walked over to his closet. 

                He chose a pair of acid wash skinny jeans, and an oversized, light green, knit sweater. When he looked in the mirror, his hair was a mess, as usual. He quickly ran his fingers through it, untangling his curls as much as possible, before putting on a black headband to hold it back out of his face. 

                He grabbed his shoulder bag, making sure he had his essentials, and headed out the door. The address he’d found online said the walk would be a little over half an hour. Craig said, though, that once they were done at the shelter, he’d drive them to the diner, then he offered to bring Tweek home. 

                He put on his headphones to play his usual Spotify playlist when a new snap came in from Craig. It was another video. When he opened it, he felt like his face was going to break because of the wide, goofy smile that appeared. 

                Craig was walking through the play area surrounded by dogs big and small all jumping up at him and barking happily. Over the barking Tweek could hear Craig saying “Tweek’s coming! Are you excited to meet Tweek? You guys ready? I bet you are! I know I am! You guys get to meet Tweek! ” over and over again in the high, cooing voice people tend to use to excite animals. It honestly sounded ridiculous in Craig’s usually deep nasally voice, but Tweek still liked it. The chant continued as he left the play area and made his way through all of the other animal areas, including the cats, small rodents, and birds. Each place he went, the animals meowed, squeaked, and squawked at him as he passed. 

                He was sure the animals were mostly just excited by the combination of his tone of voice and the fact that he was giving them attention, but the notion made him feel warm and gooey inside anyway. 

                Tweek took a blurry picture of his blushing face, trying to cover up the dopey grin on his face and looking away from the camera, “im honored” 

                He played his music and slid his phone in his pocket as he walked. Tweek really liked walking. When he was by himself, with just the soft music flowing through his ears, letting his feet carry him wherever it was he was going, that was when he felt the most relaxed. He didn’t have a driver’s license because he didn’t trust himself behind the wheel of a car, but he really didn’t care; he liked walking. It really gave him the chance to clear his head. If it wasn’t for the music, he’d probably be a nervous wreck; so many horrible things could happen on a simple fifteen minute walk. But since he had it, he was able to tune out the rest of the world for a little while. Music always did that for him, whether he was listening to it or playing it. 

                Before he even knew it, he was at the animal shelter. There was a big glass storefront with a large sign announcing the shelter’s name. Through the large windows, he could see the front desk which was being manned by a small blonde boy with a round face and bright smile. 

                He walked in and the boy immediately greeted him, “Welcome! My name’s Leo, how may I help you today?” 

                Tweek was a little thrown off by the boy’s voice; it was chipper and kind of high pitched with such a strong southern twang that it could rival Kenny’s. One of his eyes was slightly off, too; while one was a bright ocean blue, the other was more of a milky light blue with a scar running from just above his eyebrow to the top of his cheek. Tweek wasn’t sure he really wanted to know what happened.

                “Oh, um, my name’s Tweek. I’m here to see Craig,” Tweek mumbled out, trying to avoid eye contact with the Leo as much as he could. 

                Said boy’s face lit up instantly, “Oh! Tweek! I’ve heard so much about you! Craig talks about ya an awful lot, even to the animals when he thinks I can’t hear ‘im. He’s been talkin’ about you comin’ in all day! It sure is nice to finally meet ya!” His beaming smile was nothing short of contagious, and Tweek found himself returning it without much thought. “Just gimme one second, I’ll go fetch ‘im!” 

                Tweek nodded as he watched Leo go. He felt kind of awkward standing in the lobby all by himself. He really didn’t like the fact that the whole front was glass. It made him feel too vulnerable, but before that train of thought could derail much further, a familiar voice rang out through the lobby. 

                “Tweek! You made it!” When Tweek turned away from the front of the store, he saw Craig emerging from a door in the far right corner of the behind the counter. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt and a pair of khaki pants.  _ Must be the uniform _ , he thought when he noticed Leo wearing the same. 

                Craig approached him with a big smile on his face. For a second Tweek thought it looked like he was about to come give him a hug but thought better of it. He cleared his throat awkwardly and pulled at the collar of his shirt. Tweek smiled at the fact that the black haired boy was blushing. 

                “Hey, Craig. Thanks for inviting me,” Tweek said softly as he looked up at Craig. He hadn’t really realized how tall he was before. Tweek didn’t even reach his shoulder. Yeah, Tweek was short (his early addiction to caffeine keeping him from surpassing 5’3”), but Craig was also practically a giant. He had to be almost a foot taller than him. 

                “You’re welcome! Speaking of which, I figured, since you’re not that great with big animals, we should start small and work our way up. I can show you the birds and small rodents then work our way up to the dogs, because they tend to be the biggest,” Craig said, looking down at Tweek. 

                Tweek smiled, very flattered that Craig thought enough to plan this all out. “That sounds fine.” 

                Craig beamed at Tweek for a second before looking back at Leo, who had retaken his post behind the counter, “Hey, Leo, you think you can handle here some more while I show Tweek around?” 

                Tweek shot Craig a look of confusion before turning back to Leo who just nodded. 

                “It shouldn’t be a problem. We don’t usually get customers ‘round this time anyway.” 

                “Awesome, thanks,” Craig took Tweek’s hand and practically dragged him back into the same door he came out of. 

                Tweek felt like his face was on fire because  _ Craig’s hands are so warm and soft, what the fuck? _ His own had was quickly dropped, though, so Craig could push open another door that lead to a bunch of animal enclosures. 

                Craig led Tweek into the rodent area, “Okay, so here’s where we keep the rodents: hamsters, gerbils, and guinea pigs. This is actually where I adopted Stripe and Andromeda.” 

                Tweek nodded while he watched the small animals all scurry around. “Which ones are your favorites? You said you’d introduce me,” Tweek asked, gently nudging Craig with his shoulder. 

                “Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret: they’re all my favorites. I really like animals, so I try to love them all equally,” he shrugged. “We’ve got about forty-five minutes, so I guess let’s get this tour going.” 

                Tweek nodded, despite his earlier trepidation at the prospect of being around so many animals, he trusted that Craig wouldn’t lead him into anything he couldn’t handle. 

                The two of them made their way through the shelter making a stop at each of the enclosures. At each stop, Tweek listened as Craig spewed out facts about each of the animals and then proceed to name each and every one of them while Tweek usually held or pet them. 

                After their third stop, the guinea pig enclosure, when Craig finished reciting all of their names, Tweek spoke up. “How do I know you aren’t just making all of these names up on the spot? There’s no way you actually know  _ all  _ of their names,” Tweek asked, a tone of playful scepticism lacing his voice. 

                “I do actually know all of their names.” Craig looked down at him, a smirk lining his lips, “I have a really  _ really _ good memory.” 

                Tweek looked up at him, still sceptical, “So, what, you remember everything?” 

                Craig chuckled softly, “Nope. Just most things.” He gestured for Tweek to follow him along to continue their tour. He let out a genuine laugh when Tweek shoved him lightly with his shoulder. 

                Tweek opted out of holding any of the birds  _ because bird poop is awful, and their talons are so sharp, Jesus _ , but Craig held them himself so Tweek still got to admire them up close (“I’ve been pooped on before, I’m not scared.”). He, of course, named all the birds and listed what types they were, throwing in little fun facts specific to each bird. 

                The cat and dog areas were both much larger than any of the previous areas, Tweek noticed. Both areas were littered with cat and dog toys respectively. He was also relieved to see that all of the animals had been corralled into their cages. 

                When he voiced his relief to Craig, he nodded, “Yeah. It’s about time to close for the night, so we had to get them into their cages. Butters stays overnight to look after them and make sure they’re all safe.” He looked away, a soft blush showing on his face, “Plus, I figured you’d be a little less scared if they weren’t all running around like crazy. They can get kind of rowdy sometimes, and I wanted you to feel safe.” 

                Tweek smiled softly and, feeling bold,  gently reached out to take Craig’s hand, “Thank you. It means a lot.” Tweek’s face exploded in a flush that he was certain was bleeding down onto his neck. 

                Craig squeezed his hand lightly, his face mimicking Tweek’s, “No problem.” He looked away from Tweek, trying to keeping him from seeing his burning face, but it was too late. Tweek had already seen it. 

                He cleared his throat and led Tweek down the rows of large cages. He spoke softly while naming everyone as to not wake most of them. Those who were awake curiously came to the door and sniffed at the two of them, some of them licking Tweek’s hand when he went to pet them. 

                Tweek was petting one of the bigger dogs who was at the door of the cage, wagging its tail excitedly when he heard Craig speak again. 

                “I have to go back and make sure everyone has enough food for the night. Do you think you’ll be alright for a few minutes on your own?” 

                “Yeah, I think I’ll be okay. I’ll just chill here with this beautiful boy right here,” he said, petting the dog’s belly with a big grin on his face. He was so focused on the dog that he didn’t even notice Craig standing there and watching him for a few seconds, taking in his adorable expression before he finally left to do his job. 

                It was only about ten minutes before Craig came back. 

                Tweek looked up, “Are you done?” 

                “Yeah, I am. Before we go, though, I have a bit of a surprise that I hope you’re okay with.” 

                Tweek eyed him suspiciously, but said nothing. Craig took that as his cue to continue. 

                “I drove here this morning on my motorcycle. I brought an extra helmet and everything, and I promise to drive slow, but if you would rather we walk, I’m completely okay with that. The diner a bit of a walk, but it isn’t too far. I can just come back for it later. I just figured it might be fun,” he breathed out shuffling back and forth between his feet.

                Tweek looked up at him for a moment, thinking. He’d never been on a motorcycle before. Yeah, they were cool to look at, but they were so dangerous. 

                “Um…” Craig spoke up again, looking at Tweek hopefully, “It’s a trike, if that helps. Ya know, like a tricycle. It’s got a lot more stability than a cycle with just two.” 

                Tweek looked Craig in the eyes for a few seconds, mulling it all over again. He guesses if it were anyone else, he probably wouldn’t even entertain the idea, but he really did trust Craig. He hasn’t let Tweek down, yet. He sighs and nods, “It’s not that long of a drive, right?” 

                Craig’s face lights up like a Christmas tree, “Yeah! Yeah, totally. It’ll only be 10 minutes, tops.  I’m a really safe driver. And if you don’t like it, I will personally get you an uber or something to take you home so you don’t have to ride on it again. I promise.” 

                “Okay. Let’s go then before I change my mind,” Tweek breathed out, trying to calm his shaking nerves. 

                They went to the front to give a quick goodbye to Leo then to the back where the employee lockers were. Craig opened his locker, pulling out and sliding on a leather jacket and backpack. Tweek tried not to make his staring too obvious. 

                Craig grabbed his hand leading him out the back door and into the rear parking lot. There in the parking space closest to the door was a large, shiny, black three-wheeled motorcycle. He watched as Craig moved to the back of the beast where he opened a trunk compartment pulling out a large helmet and handing it to Tweek. 

                “You should probably put your hair up or else it’s gonna get really messy,” he said grabbing a second helmet from the compartment. 

                Tweek nodded, using the hair tie he kept on his wrist to collect his hair on top of his head. He let Craig help him up onto the rear end of the bike before he slipped the helmet onto his head, worried that he’d fall or something because he couldn’t see properly.

                Craig situated himself at the front of the seat and looked back at Tweek. There were a few inches separating the two of them, “You alright back there?” When Tweek responded with a nod (that he was sure looked ridiculous with the giant helmet on his head), he continued, “If you want, once we get moving you can hold onto me. I mean, uh, for stability, ya know?” he cleared his throat and slid on his helmet.

                Tweek giggled to himself and nodded again. He tried not to jump too violently when Craig started the engine, _ it was really fucking loud _ , and almost immediately once they’d started moving, Tweek wrapped his arms tightly around Craig’s torso, clinging for dear life. He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut as tight as possible.

                After a few minutes, Tweek chanced a look around. When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see that they weren’t moving nearly as fast as it felt they were. He took a deep breath and loosened his grip on Craig, though not daring to move his arms  _ just in case _ . It was actually nice watching the scenery pass by like this. The sky was lit up in beautiful oranges, pinks, and purples from the impending sunset, and Tweek couldn’t help but think that someday soon he’d like to sit on the beach and watch it. 

                Before he even knew it, they were pulling into the parking lot of the diner. Once they were parked and the bike was turned off, Craig got off then helped Tweek, it was near impossible for him to get off from where he was on his own without hurting himself. 

                “Are you alright?” Craig asked. 

                Tweek pulled off the helmet, then pulled the elastic out of his hair, “Yeah, I’m fine. It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.” He handed Craig his helmet as he walked toward the back of the bike to put them both away. 

                When Craig looked back up at him he had a wishful smile on his face, “So does that mean I get to give you a ride home?” 

                Tweek shrugged, trying to act nonchalant, “I guess.” He had to bite his lip to hold back a grin at the silly grin on Craig’s face. 

                “Well, we should head inside. I’m starving,” Craig said, shutting and locking his trunk compartment. 

                Tweek nodded and followed Craig inside the diner and to a booth near the back (a sign at the front encouraged customers to seat themselves). 

                They sat across from each other, waiting patiently for a server to come by. The booth’s seats were really comfy, and Tweek had to stop himself from bouncing on his like a child. 

                Craig cleared his throat, “So, what did you think of the shelter?” 

                “I thought it was great. It wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be. That kind of seems to be the theme of the evening,” he let out a soft laugh, reaching up and twirling a piece of hair around his fingers nervously. “Thanks for, uh, showing me around and everything.” 

                Craig smiled, “It was no problem. I’m really glad you enjoyed yourself. Now you just have to meet Stripe and Andromeda, who are, of course, some of the best creatures that have ever existed or will ever exist.” 

                “I guess I’ll just have to take your word for it for now,” Tweek replied leaning his cheek against his palm and smiling back at him sweetly. 

                A waitress came up to their table and introduced herself as Tina before taking their drink orders, coffee and water for Tweek and a Coke for Craig. She left them menus  to browse and said she’d be back in a few minutes. 

                “I think I’m gonna get pancakes,” Tweek spoke after a minute or so of scanning the menu. 

                “Breakfast? At  _ this hour? _ ” Craig replied, a joking tone to his voice. 

                “Time is an illusion, Craigory. Any time is breakfast time,” he replied with a serious expression.

                Craig returned his gaze before letting out a laugh, “You’re absolutely right. How could I have been so clueless?” 

                Tweek’s expression softened and he let out a giggle, “So what’re you thinkin’?” 

                “I’m gonna get a burger, probably. They have really good burgers here,” he replied. It just then occurred to Tweek that Craig hadn’t looked at the menu once.  _ He must come here a lot. _

                Tina came back with their drinks and took their orders. 

                Tweek took a sip of his coffee and was ecstatic to find that it was actually pretty goddamn good, “So, said you have a really good memory. I want you to prove it because I still don’t believe you.”  

                Craig raised his eyebrow challengingly, “Okay. I have the entirety of ‘The Raven’ memorized, and I can recite it to you, word-for-word right this second.” 

                “Fine. But I’m gonna pull it up and check you the entire time,” Tweek said, pulling out his phone and pulling up “The Raven”. “Go.”

                Craig began reciting the poem. From the start, he was playing it up, adding dramatic inflections to his voice and making gestures whenever he felt necessary. About halfway through, Tweek was so enraptured by his recitation that he stopped following along on his phone and just listened and watched him.  

                When he finally finished, Tweek applauded softly, “I’ll be honest, I stopped paying attention to if you got the words right or not. Even if you did mess up anything, that was god damn impressive.”

                “I assure you, it was one-hundred percent correct,” Craig said, smugly. 

                “Do you know any more?” 

                They kept going until their food came, Craig reciting a few short stories off the top of his head while Tweek pulled it up on his phone and followed along until he ultimately got caught up in Craig’s theatrics. They were all so interesting that Tweek was on the edge of his seat the entire time. 

                They were both relatively silent while they ate, Tweek and Craig both too overcome with hunger to keep up their little game. Tweek offered Craig a few bites from his pancakes, and Craig let Tweek steal some of his french fries. 

                They both ordered shakes when the food was gone and shared idle conversation. They threw jokes back and forth and somehow managed to shift through topic after topic without much of a second thought. Tweek honestly couldn’t remember being this comfortable around anyone he’d only known for such a short amount of time. He loved how easily conversation was flowed between them. 

                They were both surprised by how fast the time had passed, and as soon as they finished their shakes, they paid and left (Tweek had to work in the morning tomorrow, so he needed to at least try and get a decent amount of sleep). Craig of course gave him the helmet again and helped him back onto the bike. 

                Tweek felt a lot less terrified the second time around on the motorcycle, but he still clung to Craig like a baby koala  _ just in case. _ He gave Craig directions back to his apartment and watched the scenery again. The streets were lit by the bright lights of storefronts, restaurants, and bars that were still booming with business, it was a Friday night afterall. 

                When they pulled up outside his apartment complex, he almost didn’t want to get off. But he knew he had to. The night couldn’t last forever, and, as much as he didn’t want to sometimes, he had responsibilities. 

                Craig turned off the bike again, getting up to help Tweek off. When Tweek handed him back the helmet for the final time that evening, he went and put it back away. 

                They both stood there in front of the complex staring at each other for a minute. 

                Tweek was the first to speak, “I, uh, I had a really nice time tonight. Thanks.”

                Craig cleared his throat and reached up to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly, “Yeah. No problem. I had a great time, too.”

                They both fell silent again, both flushing furiously and avoiding eye contact with each other. 

                When they finally locked eyes again, Tweek moved without a second thought. He raised up onto his tippy toes and grabbed the collar of Craig’s jacket to pull him down so their lips could meet. 

                It lasted for only a second, but it felt like a fucking eternity. If Tweek was being completely honest with himself, he probably could’ve stayed there forever, but he pulled back, opening his eyes that he hadn’t even realised he’d closed. 

                He looked directly into Craig’s eyes that were sparkling in the starlight. The boy in front of him seemed to be frozen in place, “So, um. Yeah. Goodnight, I guess.” 

                And without even waiting for a response, he hurried into the apartment building, going as fast as his feet could carry him and not stopping until he was locked behind the safety of his own door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope y'all enjoyed.I'm really sorry this took me so long, but I had to rewrite half of it at one point because I didn't like it. But I'm happy with this version.   
> Lemme know if you notice any mistakes or anything so I can fix them. 
> 
> If you'd like, you can talk to me on tumblr.  
> http://buttsfodays.tumblr.com/  
> or if you want some of my sweet SP art, my art blog.  
> http://artfobutts.tumblr.com/
> 
> Have a lovely day~


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, I'm not super happy with this chapter, tbh, I just really wanted to put something out because I haven't updated in a hot minute. It's also a lot shorter than the other chapters. It's mostly just filler; unlike when I first started writing this fanfic, I actually have some stuff planned for the story in the future that I hope y'all will enjoy. So yeah.  
> It'll hopefully be back to your regularly scheduled programming next chapter lmao

                Tweek practically skipped into work the next day. He was in such a wonderful mood that not even asshole customers could bring him down. He was on his fucking A-game today, not a single fucked up order, not a single spilled drink, not a single dropped pastry, nothing.  
                He hadn’t felt this good about himself in a very long time, and terrified he may be about the inevitable downward spiral he would eventually face, he was embracing this good feeling with anything he had.  
                He couldn’t stop thinking about last night. He fucking did it. He kissed Craig. He did that. He was only reminded of this whenever he texted Craig. Said boy was off work today and was chronicling his adventures with his friends while Tweek told him about any weird or rude customers that came into the shop.  
                He hardly even noticed the time passing, really, and at the end of the shift, he feels himself skipping back to his apartment, too. He feels lighter than ever, and boy was it fucking amazing.  
                This feeling, unfortunately, only got him so far because when the school week resumed, reality hit him with just how close the end of the semester was. He only had a week until finals, and when it did really sink into his mind Monday morning, he experienced an emotional crash he wasn’t ready for.  
                He, of course, hardly had time for anything other than studying and practicing. He had to perform his piece as his final exam in his piano instruction class and just the thought of it was wracking his nerves more than he thought was possible. No matter how much he studied or how much he ran through the piece with little to no error, he never felt like he would be truly prepared, and that thought fucking terrified him.  
                One of his very few saving graces, however, was Craig. Throughout the whole week, Tweek never got to see him in person, but he was constantly sending encouraging text messages or pictures of cute animals to calm him down. Probably the best thing was that he was constantly checking up on Tweek to make sure he was eating or staying hydrated because Tweek had expressed that when he gets too stressed he forgets to do those things. Sometimes when Tweek was feeling the most worked up over something, he would call Craig, and the boy would just sit and listen to him rant, sometimes for hours. Tweek did his best to reciprocate, but of course he didn’t do nearly as good of a job as Craig did (no matter how much the he claimed otherwise).  
                When his first exam (English) came around, he felt like he was going to explode. The test went by excruciatingly slowly, and he was one of the last people to leave the testing room. His brain immediately convinced him he failed, of course, but when he left he had two messages waiting for him, one from Kyle asking to set up a study session tomorrow for their exam together, and another from Craig about twenty minutes ago, saying that he had just finished one of his own exams and was sure that Tweek nailed his own exam.  
                He of course jumped at the opportunity of studying with Kyle, and when they finally met up, Kyle didn’t look like he was faring much better than Tweek. But in the end, that session was better for Tweek’s sanity than he would have thought possible. Kyle kept reassuring him that he was doing well and was getting a majority of the practice questions correct, and nothing was more reassuring than one of the smartest and best students he knew telling him he was going to nail it.  
                So, of course, he went into his French exam feeling more confident than he could recall ever feeling about an exam, and, even though he was the last one to leave again, he was still fairly confident in his success, something he usually didn’t experience.  
                He only had one more exam before his piano performance (one of his classes had a final project in lieu of an exam and Tweek had already submitted it). He feels a considerable weight off of his shoulders, though the weight still left felt near insurmountable.  
                The days were flying by in a blur, his last actual exam went by in seemingly the blink of an eye. He felt the weight of his impending performance on him at all times, and it was just getting worse the closer it got. The only good thing about the set-up of his performance exam was that he got feedback immediately. So, unlike the rest of his exams, he wouldn’t have to wait for weeks for the grades to be posted.  
                He, of course, spent the entire day before his examination going through the music countless times, playing over specific parts, reviewing his sheet music, and double-checking all markings he’d made on the page. After what could either be his fourth or fortieth run-through, he realized that just playing it to himself over and over wasn’t really going to get him anywhere. He knew all the notes, he knew all the dynamics, and he knew all the rhythms. He needed an outside opinion.  
                He picked up his phone and scrolled through the short list of contacts in his phone stopping at Craig’s name, and hitting the call button. It was sometime in the early evening, he forgot to check the exact time on his phone, but he was fairly sure Craig was home right now, maybe studying for his last final. He really hoped he wasn’t interrupting, but it was really important.  
                “Hey,” not even two rings went by before Craig answered. “What’s up, hot stuff?”  
                Tweek forgot to answer for a second, too caught off guard by the nickname. He could guess by the dragging silence on the other line, it wasn’t something that Craig had really intended to let slip out. Craig had never answered the phone like that, and Tweek was thoroughly thrown through a loop. Oh god, Craig is such a fucking dork.  
                “Please forget I just said that out loud,” Craig’s voice came through the speaker again, the words accompanied by a groan. Tweek could imagine Craig’s flushed face so vividly it was almost funny.  
                “I’ll try my best, but I make no promises… cold stuff,” Tweek muttered the last words with a small smile creeping onto his face.  
                Tweek heard a soft chuckle, “Touché. Now, that aside, what is up?”  
                “Oh, um, are you busy right now?” Tweek asked softly.  
                “Not particularly. I just got done studying, why?”  
                “Well, you know, I’ve got my piano thing tomorrow, and I’ve been playing it over and over by myself. I think I have everything down, but I need a second opinion on it. You know, like, a second set of ears to give me some actual feedback,” Tweek spoke out the words quickly, and for a second he was worried it would be hard for Craig to understand him.  
                Thankfully, his response didn’t take long at all, “Okay. Do you want to do it over the phone like this?”  
                Tweek cleared his throat, “Would you be willing to come over? It won’t sound right through the phone speakers, even if I recorded it and sent it to you like that.”  
                Craig was silent for a second, probably just thinking, but even so, Tweek didn’t like asking things of other people like this. He immediately tried to backtrack, “I mean, if you can’t it’s not too big of a deal. I can just--”  
                “Tweek, it’s okay. I’ll be there in a few, I’ve just got to put on some pants, then I’ll be over, alright?” Craig cut him off.  
                Tweek nodded at first, forgetting that Craig wasn’t there and couldn’t see him, “Yeah, okay. Thank you.”  
                “No problem, Tweek. I’ll see you soon,” and with that, he hung up.  
                Tweek stood up and looked around his room of the apartment. It was a goddamn mess; he hadn’t had much time to really worry about all the clothes, garbage, and dishes strewn about. He let out a shriek and immediately got to work putting clothes in his hamper, dishes in the sink, and garbage in the bin. By the time he was done, it occurred to him that he didn’t give Craig his apartment number, so he sent him a quick text with it. He was relieved to find that the mess didn’t follow him out into the living area or kitchen, seeing as he hadn’t really left his room much in the past week if it wasn’t for an exam.  
                He moved his keyboard from its perch on his bed to the rarely used keyboard stand on the other side of the room just as a knock sounded from the door. He rushed out of his room and to the front door, and he almost flung himself into the wall with the force he used to open the door.  
                “Hellowelcometomyhome,” Tweek squeaked out. He looked up at Craig standing in the doorway who hadn’t even had the chance to put down his hand all the way after knocking. He was wearing the same leather jacket he’d had on their date, but he was wearing it over a t-shirt and jeans. He reached out to feel the leather before asking, “Do you always wear this?”  
                Craig looked down at himself, almost as if he’d forgotten what he was wearing, “Oh, um. Yeah, I guess. I wear it whenever I ride Bertha because, should anything happen…” he takes a moment to knock on the wood of the doorframe, “the leather it really thick and will help me avoid getting the shit scraped out of my arms and stuff. So, it’s mostly for safety, really.”  
                Tweek looked at Craig in confusion for a second, “You named your motorcycle Bertha?”  
                Craig’s eyes widened a fraction and the faintest hint of a blush appeared on his cheeks, “Uh… yeah. It started mostly as a joke, but I guess it stuck.” He scratched the back of his neck kind of awkwardly. “So… can I come in?”  
                “Oh, yeah. Fuck. Yes, please come in,” Tweek stammered for a second before stepping out of the doorway , allowing Craig into his apartment. “Do you want a drink or anything? I’ve got, um, water? Or, I could make some coffee, if you want?”  
                “I’m alright, thanks. Where’s your keyboard?” he asked looking around. Tweek had honestly almost completely forgotten why he’d invited Craig over, jesus christ, he invited Craig over to his apartment.  
                “Oh, it’s, um, it’s in my bedroom. So, I guess let’s go.” He turned and made his way into his bedroom, followed closely br Craig. “You can sit at the desk, if you want. Or, um, on the bed, I guess? Whichever you want.”  
                He moved his keyboard away from the wall it was up against before seating himself in front of it, facing Craig at his desk where he’d taken off his jacket and laid it across the back of the chair and taken a seat.  
                Tweek straightened out his sheet music on the little plastic stand attached to his keyboard and took a very deep breath, steadying his hands.  
                As soon as he began playing, he lost himself in it, his hands were steadier than ever and his brain was clearer than it had been all week. He really enjoyed playing in general, and even though he’d go right back into the stress of his final as soon as he was done, he was happy to exist in the silence. Of course, his brain never really went completely quiet. He was just really focused on the music. He was keyed into all the details on the page, and bringing them to life through sound.  
                When he finished, he let the final note ring through the air until it tapered off naturally. He kept his eyes locked on his sheet music, all his usual anxieties flooding back into his brain. Oh god. That was probably terrible. Craig probably thought it was garbage. He probably fucking left in the middle because of how fucking awful it was. He was definitely going to fail this goddamn final and get kicked out of the music program, and then he’d get kicked out of school and have to go back home and work in the shop forever and live with his parents, oh god.  
                Just as he felt his lungs on the cusp of hyperventilating, he heard a voice so soft it was almost impossible to hear over the noises in Tweek’s brain, but he still heard it nonetheless.  
                “Woah…”  
                Tweek finally looked up to see the boy sitting across the room staring at him with wide eyes full of awe.  
                “Dude, that was amazing. I mean, I can’t give you a critique from a musical perspective because I don’t know shit about most of the intricacies of music, but that was really fucking good.”  
                Tweek felt himself flush brightly, “Well, thank you.”  
                “I think you’re gonna fucking nail it tomorrow.”  
                Tweek’s face lit up, and he noticed a look of fondness and adoration on Craig’s. The blonde boy looked away with a shy smile, “Thank you, Craig. It… it really means a lot.”  
                “Hey, it’s no problem. I know how stressed about this you’ve been. I’m just glad I got to experience the magic first hand,” he gave small spirit fingers at the use of the word magic, and Tweek couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him at the action.  
                Craig smiled fondly at him before standing up and stretching his hands over his head, and Tweek definitely didn’t stare at the small section of skin that was exposed by the slight lift of his t-shirt. When his arms fell back to his sides, Tweek’s eyes immediately snapped back up to Craig’s.  
                “Well, as much as I would absolutely love to stay here longer and listen to you play more stuff, I should probably get back to my apartment. I gotta get up early tomorrow for my last exam.”  
                Tweek checked the time on his phone, he was surprised at how late it was. Time just seemed to fly when Craig was around, “Yeah, I should probably try getting to sleep soon.” He stood up and moved his keyboard back against the wall before ushering Craig out of his room and toward the front door.  
                They just stood there for a second, Craig in the open doorway and Tweek leaning against the open door.  
                “You only have the piano thing left for finals, right?” Craig asked, digging his hands into his pockets.  
                “Yeah, why?”  
                “Well, I was wondering if you’d want to hang out tomorrow night? Like, go on another date kind of, I guess. I mean, I’ve been wanting to see you again for the whole week, but you know, exams and everything.”  
                “What did you have in mind?”  
                “It’s a surprise, but I think you’ll really like it.”  
                Tweek cocked an eyebrow at the taller boy, curiosity peaked, “Well, last time you surprised me with something it was a motorcycle. Should I be scared?”  
                “Were you scared of the motorcycle?” His face went blank for a second, “Actually, let me rephrase that. Didn’t you end up enjoying riding on Bertha?”  
                Tweek rolled his eyes, “Yeah, I guess. You’re lucky I’m feeling particularly trusting because you put me in a good mood. So yeah, I guess I’ll go.”  
                Craig’s face lit up, “Awesome! I’ll come pick you up around 4.”  
                Tweek smiled at his expression, eyes full of adoration, “All right, well, I’ll see you then.”  
                He stood up on his tippy toes and pulled Craig in for a peck on the cheek. When he pulled back, Craig had a fond smile painting his face.  
                “Well, night, hot stuff.”  
                “Night, cold stuff. See you tomorrow.”  
                Craig smiled and turned to make his way back down the hallway, and Tweek watched him until he was in the staircase. He couldn’t help by think that something seemed different watching him leave, but he shrugged it off, closing his door. It wasn’t until he got back into his room that he noticed the leather jacket still laying across the back of his desk chair.  
                He picked it up off the chair and smiled to himself. He slid it over his arms and laughed at the absolute hugeness of it on him. He decided to pull out his phone, and moved in front of his mirror. He pulled up snapchat and took a picture of himself, adding the words to the bottom of the screen “this is mine now” and sending it to Craig.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope y'all enjoyed. Sorry this took so long, hopefully next chapter won't take as long.  
> Lemme know if you notice any mistakes or anything so I can fix them.
> 
> If you'd like, you can talk to me on tumblr. You can come yell at me about updating my story or something lmao  
> http://buttsfodays.tumblr.com/  
> or if you want some of my sweet SP art, my art blog.  
> http://artfobutts.tumblr.com/
> 
> Have a lovely day~


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, baby.
> 
> Update: I changed a paragraph around a little bit because I've changed some plot developments for later on, but everything else is the same.

Tweek could hardly contain his nerves. He honestly felt like he could’ve vomited if he had the stomach to eat anything in the first place. He was waiting outside the small auditorium where his piano final was being held. He couldn’t hear the person in there right now, but he couldn’t help but fear that, with his luck, they were so fucking incredible that Tweek would just sound like absolute garbage in comparison. Or maybe Tweek would just fuck up so much that everyone after him would sound better. At least he’d be helping out everyone else. It was still around mid-morning, so he’d definitely be helping out a good number of people.

 _Fuck_. He sat against the wall and looked over his sheet music again for what must be the millionth time in just the past two days. His hands were shaking so bad that, if it hadn’t been a problem his whole life, he would’ve probably been completely unable to read anything on the vibrating papers in front of him. He knew he’d probably calm down once he got to the actual piano and started playing, but he couldn’t help the near panic coursing through his veins.

He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket, but he can’t look at it right now, his brain keeps swimming with the thought that if he diverted even a speck of his attention to anything other than his music, it would ultimately lead to the failure of this particular test of his musical skills.

Just as he finished looking over the music, the door opened and a boy Tweek didn’t recognize ran out clutching his own music to his chest. He mumbled out a quick, “Your turn,” but Tweek couldn’t get a read on his expression before he was gone.

Before Tweek could even consider collapsing in on himself until he was one with the void, he stood up and pushed through the doors. His piano instructor, Mr. Mackey, an old, balding man with an unusually large head and round glasses, was seated at a small table set up at the start of the final row of seats. Tweek honestly liked him a lot. He was a great teacher, and while he tried as well as he could to accommodate Tweek’s mental health issues, it came off more ill-informed parent trying their best but just missing the mark. Tweek still appreciated it greatly nonetheless. It was still leaps and bounds better than his own parents, and that was more than he could ask for.

Tweek cautiously approached the table where Mr. Mackey sat and handed over the original for his sheet music, the unmarked version he was required to bring with him in addition to his own marked up copy.

“Thank you very much, Tweek, m’kay. Now why don’t you just go on up on the stage, and I’ll let you know when I’m ready for you to start, m’kay?” he spoke in his usual calm, slow tone. Tweek just nodded and scurried off onto the stage.

He was so happy to see the grand piano because, though he loved his keyboard more than most objects he’d ever owned or people he’d met, he obviously preferred the real thing. He sat and began setting up his music on the stand, then crossing his hands in his lap as he waited.

After a minute or so, Mr. Mackey spoke up again, “Alright, Tweek, just start whenever you’re ready, m’kay?”

Tweek took a deep breath and steeled his nerves, moving his hands and hovering over his starting keys.

He began to play, allowing the music to come to him as it naturally did. It felt like the the whole piece was done in only the blink of an eye, and Tweek honestly didn’t know how to feel. He sat there, clasping his hands again in his lap and went over everything in his head. He recalled a specific dynamic change that he should’ve brought out more. He remembered a specific note that he missed and it fucked up the chord, making it a minor instead of a major. He knew there were more places where he made some very very minor mistakes, and all he could do was stew in his brain and think about every single one while he waited for Mr. Mackey to finish writing his critiques.  

“Alright, Tweek, if you just come on down here, and grab your original and your critique sheet, m’kay?” Mr. Mackey’s voice snapped him out of his own self-criticism. He nodded, gathering up his music and hurrying off the stage to the table.

Mr. Mackey handed Tweek his sheet, the blond immediately taking note of the large amount of writing on the paper. _Fuck. Surely that couldn’t be good._

“Thanks for coming in today, Tweek. Please send in the next student on your way out, and I hope you have a wonderful day, m’kay.”

Tweek nodded, heading out of the auditorium as quickly as his feet would carry him. He stacked his critiques with his sheet music, and refused to look at them until he was back in the safety of his apartment, curled up in his sheets with relaxing music playing in the background.

He pulled out the paper and read it carefully. Tweek was relieved to find that most of the comments were positive, noting his improvement since the start of the semester, the accuracy of the overall tone of the piece, and generally phenomenal playing. Of course Mr. Mackey caught small mistakes or suggested stronger musical effects (dynamic or tempo changes, certain articulations, etc.) in specific measures, and provided helpful tips on how to further improve his playing overall.

There were three columns on the sheet for “performance fundamentals”,”technical accuracy”, and “musical effect”, and Tweek found his breath dying in his throat when he saw A’s circled for each section. This meant he had an A overall for his performance. He honestly felt like he could cry. _He fucking nailed it! And now it was over! He was done with his first semester of college!_

He immediately pulled out his phone and was reminded of the messages he received earlier when the notifications were still sitting on his lock screen. He had a texts from both Bebe and Kenny wishing him good luck on his piano test, and he had two from Craig both telling Tweek he was awake and wishing him luck. Tweek sent them all messages attempting to say something along the lines of “I PASSED MY EXAM WITH FLYING COLORS I AM SO HAPPY,” but seeing as his hands themselves were practically vibrating, it came off as more of a jumbled mess of letters with little semblance to actual words. He hoped the message still came across.

He laid back in his bed, breathing deeply and trying to calm his mind. He couldn’t believe it. Not only was the stress of his finals finally over, but he passed the most stressful exam he’d probably ever taken. He was fucking elated. He just had to wait for his other grades to come out, but riding the high of his previous success, he couldn’t help but think he must’ve aced those too.

He got up to make himself a pot of coffee, he fucking needed it. His phone started ringing while he waited for the pot to finish. When he looked at the caller ID, his face lit up. When he slid to answer, he didn’t give the caller even a fraction of a second before he practically yelled into the phone, “CRAIG! I DID IT!”

He heard a chuckle from the other boy on the phone, “I heard! Well, I thought that was what you were saying. I’m glad I was right, though! Congratulations! I mean, I knew you were gonna nail it, so I was never really worried.”

Tweek beamed, still ecstatic at his own success, but also appreciative at the praise. “I’m just so glad this week’s over with,” he sighed. “I can hardly remember what it feels like to not be stressed.”

“I feel that. This week’s been absolutely awful, so I’m glad it’s almost over.”

“Yeah, me too. So what’re you up to? Anything fun?”

Craig groaned loudly, “I’m on my way to my exam, and I’m really not looking forward to it, if I’m being honest. Could you kill me so I don’t have to take it?”

Tweek snorted into the phone and took a sip of his coffee before answering, “As much as I’d love to save you from the misery of your exam, if I killed you, you wouldn’t be able to take me on that date tonight, and I’ve been looking forward to it, even though I don’t know where you’re taking me or what on earth we’re doing.”

“Fuck, man. You’ve got a hell of a point. I guess I’m just gonna have to suffer through this,” he let out an over dramatic sigh that had Tweek rolling his eyes with a fond smile. “I gotta go, though. I’ll text you when I’m done. I’ll see you later.”

Tweek chuckled to himself, “See you later. Good luck on your exam. Don’t die.”

There was a beat of silence before Craig quickly replied, “No promises,” and hung up before Tweek could even think to respond.

Tweek let out an exasperated sigh before putting his phone back in his pocket and taking his mug of coffee with him back to his bed. He really needed a fucking nap. So, after setting an alarm for a few hours from now, he curled up underneath his sheets and closed his eyes for some much needed sleep.

 

Tweek was pulled out of his dreams by the gentle music of his alarm, and as soon as he’d reached over and shut it off, he stretched his arms above his head, popping a few vertebrae satisfyingly. He threw his legs over the side of his bed and picked up his phone to check for any messages.

He had a few messages from Craig, which was nice. One was from not too long after he’d fallen asleep, and the other was from only ten minutes ago.

**Just got out of my exam, and you’ll be happy to know that I didn’t die.**

**I’m gonna be there to pick you up at 4, so be ready.**

Tweek checked the time: 3:17. He figured it’d probably be a good idea to take a shower before he started getting ready, so he sent a quick text letting Craig know he’d be ready and went to his bathroom.

He liked taking long showers when he could, just letting the warm water cascade over him, especially now with the incredible stress of the past week tying his muscles into such complicated knots that even an expert eagle scout would probably still have trouble undoing them.

In his usual shower-time pondering, his brain travels to Craig. He wondered what he could possibly have planned for the evening. Whatever it was, Tweek trusted that it at the very least wouldn’t result in his death, which he couldn’t really say about most times anyone asks him to do anything. He was also just really excited to see Craig again.

He was excited for the fact that school was over for the semester because they’d have more time to hang out, even though he’d probably be working a lot more. Unless Mom wanted him to go home and visit. Though, if he was being completely honest. Of course he really wanted to see her, but he didn’t want to deal with…  _ them _ . He still couldn’t stand to see them or be around them right now after all these years, and he really wasn’t too keen on even the possibility. He’d probably end up spending most of his time holed up in his room doing absolutely nothing anyway because there was almost nothing fun to do in the small mountain town of South Park, Colorado, and there was too strong a chance he’d run into the two people he never wanted to see again.

He sighed, shutting off the water; he really didn’t want to keep thinking about that. He literally just finished the semester, and he knew he’d have at least a week before he had to put any actual thought into it. He was gonna enjoy it while he could. 

He wrapped his towel around his waist and walked back out into his room. Checking his phone, he realized that he’d been in the shower for half an hour without realizing it. So he went to his closet, quickly pulling out a pair of black jeans and an old green button-down shirt and getting dressed. He dressed and used his towel to dry his hair before just pulling it up into a messy bun on top of his head.

Walking over to his desk chair, he grabbed the leather jacket he’d draped back across it and slipped it onto his shoulders. It was still practically swallowing him whole, but it was really comfortable and smelled like Craig. Tweek decided that, since Craig would probably be here for him soon, he should  wait outside so Craig wouldn’t have to walk all the way up to get him.

Tweek, of course, heard Craig before he saw him, his motorcycle audible from all the way down the street. When he pulled up, Tweek smiled sweetly at him and waved while he waited for him to shut it off.

Once the engine was shut off, Craig lifted himself off the bike and pulled off his helmet. He gave Tweek a huge smile as he approached, and Tweek had to fight a furious flush as he noticed Craig’s eyes rake over him for a fraction of a second.

Craig reached out and gently grabbed the sleeve of his own jacket draped over Tweek’s shoulders, “I think this looks better on you than it did on me.”

Now Tweek could definitely feel the heat in his face. He shrugged, “I beg to differ, but you’re entitled to your own opinions. I see you’ve got more, though.” Tweek gestured toward the leather jacket decorating Craig’s own torso.

“Well yeah. What kind of biker would I be if I only had _one_ leather jacket?”

Tweek snorted softly, “I guess you’ve got a point there, not that I really know much about cool biker dudes or anything.”

“Oh, so you think I’m cool?” Craig asked with a teasing smirk. Tweek just rolled his eyes, though the small smile on his face really betrayed his true feelings.

He shrugged nonchalantly, “I guess you’re pretty alright.” He begins walking, nudging Craig with his shoulder as he passed. “Well, let’s get going, I’m excited to see what you have planned.”

Craig followed him, of course helping him onto the bike and handing him a helmet, “Oh, you’re gonna love it. It’s gonna be a magical evening.” Craig gave little spirit fingers at the word “magical.”

Tweek slid on his helmet, “Then let’s go!”

Craig chuckled and slid on his own helmet before starting up the bike again and taking off down the road. Tweek, of course latched tightly onto Craig immediately once the vehicle started moving, forgetting how the ride felt since the first time.

After a minute or so of getting used to it, Tweek let his arms loosen considerably and he decided to watch his surroundings as they flew by. It only took him a moment to realize that the way they were going felt really familiar, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

It wasn’t until Tweek caught the sight of sunlight reflecting off of splashing waves that it clicked. _Craig was taking him to the beach._ He obviously couldn’t voice this realization as it was unlikely Craig would hear him through both of their helmets and over the roar of the bike.

They pulled into the parking lot just before where the sand started, and Craig turned the bike off before hopping off it himself. He took off his helmet, placing it under one of his arms, and offered his other hand out to Tweek.

The blond took the hand and hopped off the bike, taking off his own helmet once his feet were planted safely on the ground. Craig went around the back of the bike and reached into his trunk, pulling out a full backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. He placed the helmets in the trunk before shutting and locking it.

Craig reached out and took Tweek’s hand back in his own, entwining their fingers together, “Let’s go.”

The two of them walked together along the beach, sharing small talk between them about their weeks and exams. When they’d mostly caught up, which didn’t take long seeing as they texted each other constantly, they continued walking together in silence. Tweek was very glad to find that while silence usually makes him more anxious or uncomfortable, he felt relaxed and comforted in the silence between them.

He watched the sand move around his feet and listened to the distant sound of the waves crashing against the shore as they walked until Craig stopped them suddenly, looking out over the beach and toward the water nodding. Tweek looked around and was surprised to see that the beach was almost completely empty here.

“This is a good spot, I think,” the taller boy muttered, kneeling down on the sand and grabbing the bag off his shoulder. Tweek watched with curiosity as Craig pulled out an oversized beach blanket and laid it out across the sand. When Craig sat down on it and patted the space next to him expectantly, Tweek quickly followed suit, watching as a couple sandwiches and some fruit were pulled out of the backpack.

“So you planned a picnic on the beach?” Tweek spoke up, grabbing one of the sandwiches from on the blanket. He was happy to see that they were PB&J with grape jelly, something he loved but hadn’t really eaten in too long. Taking a bite brought back a faint sense of nostalgia that he hadn’t felt in a while either.

“Yeah. I mean, I come to the beach all the time, and thought it would be nice to have a little picnic, though there’s really not much,” he said picking a chunk of watermelon from one of the small tupperware containers and popping it in his mouth. “Plus, I thought about how much of a shame it was that you’ve never really seen a sunset.”

Tweek raised an eyebrow and snorted softly, “I’ve seen a sunset before Craig. They happen every day, fun fact.”

Craig looked over at him skeptically and raised an eyebrow challengingly. “Maybe, but you’ve never seen one like this,” Craig said nonchalantly, nodding his head toward the horizon.

Tweek, who hadn’t really been paying attention to anything outside of their immediate vicinity, looked out over the water. His breath caught in his chest when he finally took in the sight. The entire sky was lit up beautifully with bright oranges and yellows and vibrant pinks and purples all traveling across the sky like strokes of paint on a canvas. The way all of the colors reflected and danced on the water’s surface was absolutely breathtaking. He couldn’t believe he’d never really taken the time to appreciate this beauty before. The sun was just barely beginning to dip below the horizon, but it would likely be gone soon.

“It’s beautiful…” he uttered, voice barely audible, but in the quiet serenity of the beach, Craig could hear him just fine.

“Yeah it is...” Craig replied almost as quiet. Had Tweek not been so mesmerized by the sight in front of him, he might have caught his own transfixed gaze reflected on the face of the person sitting next to him.

He was finally pulled out of his reverie by the sound of an artificial shutter click and looked over just in time to see Craig lowering his phone down into his lap, staring at the screen and tapping around for a second. Before Tweek could get a look at the picture on the screen, Craig had slipped the phone back into his pocket and turned to look back at the blond with a small smile.

When Tweek looked up at Craig’s face, he was met with a sight that made his heart feel like it was going to pound right out of his chest. Craig’s olive skin was alight with a soft orange glow, and his eyes were shining more brightly that Tweek thought he’d ever seen in a person’s eyes before. Craig looked downright beautiful like this. _This was a sight Tweek probably couldn’t get used to, even if he were lucky enough to see it every day for the rest of his life._

He pulled his knees up to his chest and hugged them close to him, looking down at the blanket. He knew that if he kept looking at Craig his heart might explode. He felt like his face was about to burst out in flames. When his eyes move ever so slightly to the side, he sees Craig’s hand sitting palm down on the blanket. He reached his hand out and slowly placed his hand over Craig’s, smiling when he felt Craig turn his hand and slot his fingers in between Tweek’s.

“Hey, Tweek?” Craig spoke up after a while of companionable silence together.

Tweek looked over at him, and found him watching the horizon where the sun had disappeared a few minutes ago. He had a sort of blank expression on his face, but Tweek could see the contemplation in his eyes, “Yeah?”

Tweek caught the way Craig’s cheeks reddened and his tightened his hand around Tweek’s own. He cleared his throat and turned his head to look Tweek directly in the eyes before speaking softly, “Do you want to be my boyfriend?”

Tweek was sure he was going to implode. He could hardly hear his own thoughts over the thrumming of his pulse through his ears. His stomach was flipping in the most pleasant way possible, and his heart was beating like he’d just run a marathon.

His face split in two with how wide he was smiling, and his cheeks were already starting to feel sore. He nodded and squeezed Craig’s hand tightly, “Yeah. I’d like that a lot.”

When Craig met his eyes, Tweek could see the the joy in his eyes, a similar smile to his own gracing his features. They just stared at each other for a moment, until Craig lifted his other hand to gently cup Tweek’s cheek. He looked between Tweek’s eyes for a moment, searching for any kind of hesitation, but when he was met with none, he leaned in and lightly pressed his lips to Tweek’s.

It obviously wasn’t the first time they’d kissed, but it felt a lot more special than before. Tweek felt fireworks exploding throughout his whole body at the contact, and it felt amazing. Craig detached his other hand from Tweek’s and moved it up to join it’s twin on his other cheek, squishing their faces even closer together than either of them really thought were possible.

Tweek pulled away after a moment, inhaling the breath Craig had taken from him. He noticed the huge dopey grin on Craig’s face, and couldn’t help but think the expression was mirrored on his own face.

“That was nice,” Craig breathed out, his warm breath ghosting against Tweek’s face because of their close proximity. It smelled like watermelon.

Tweek drew hit bottom lip between his teeth, his smile getting almost impossibly wider, “Yeah it was.”

Craig looked up at the sky for a second before leaning back and pulling Tweek down lot long after. Tweek hadn’t even noticed the sky getting dark until there was only the lightest sliver of a glow on the edge of the horizon.

There were a fair number of stars out, and after only a minute of silence, Craig reached out to point at the various formations, naming each one as he went. After he named each constellation, he even went so far as to name the stars that made them up.

Tweek silently scooted closer to Craig, taking his hand back into his own and leaning his head his shoulder. The blond boy listened quietly as Craig kept going, reciting some facts about space after he’d run out of stars. It wasn’t until Craig pointed out how sad the light pollution made him because it limited his stargazing that Tweek spoke up again.

“I think you’d really like my hometown. It’s really small, so there’s, like, no light pollution. They don’t even need to turn on the streetlights on clear nights because of how bright the sky gets from all the stars.”

Craig looked down at him, a small smile on his face, “I’d really like to see that someday.”

Tweek really felt like he never needed to go back because in that moment, he swore he could see the stars in Craig’s eyes.

He leaned in placing a soft pack to the taller boy’s lips, “I’d like that too…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope y'all enjoyed. I'm so sorry this has taken me so goddamn long to get out. I've been really busy moving, and I also just have a lot of trouble focusing things. I am going out of town for a week or so, so I won't even be able to start writing the next chapter for a while. But I promise that I'm not giving up on this story just yet. I'm gonna start getting into some real plot (and some angst) soon, so get ready for that.  
> Lemme know if you notice any mistakes or anything so I can fix them.
> 
> If you'd like, you can talk to me on tumblr. You can come yell at me about updating my story or something lmao  
> http://buttsfodays.tumblr.com/  
> or if you want some of my sweet SP art, my art blog.  
> http://artfobutts.tumblr.com/
> 
> Have a lovely day~


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING!!!  
> In this chapter there are mentions of drug use, self harm, child neglect/endangerment, a brief mention of past panic attacks, and kind of references to depression and suicidal thoughts. The part where things start to get hard will be marked by a bold font, so if any of those things are hard to read you should skip to the next bold part.  
> Also, if you read my chapter before this before, like, a few days ago, I changed a very small part in it that was important for some of the stuff in this chapter. So you should go check that out first just in case.

 

The following week was, in simplest terms, fantastic. He took off a few days from work, which his boss understood completely, Tweek was a hard worker, and it had been obvious to everyone how completely exhausted he was from his finals. He used that time to actually relax for once, something he was finding increasingly easier with the company he was keeping. 

He finally had time to hang out with Bebe and Kenny, both congratulating him on his relationship during one of their lunches. They went out and saw some movie that came out one day; it was absolutely terrible, and the three of them spent the rest of the night shitting on it relentlessly. And, of course, Bebe kept hounding him about how upset she was that Kenny got to meet Craig before she did, seeing as she’d held the status of Best Friend for so much longer. Tweek knew she wasn’t  _ really _ mad at him; he understood that she had earned her spot as Best Friend™, and that title comes with special privileges. Thankfully she let up after Tweek’s insistence that Kenny meeting Craig was a complete accident, and Kenny abandoned him anyway. 

He, of course spent time with Craig, and it was wonderful. He just couldn’t believe he actually had a boyfriend. Obviously, he’s enjoyed every moment they’ve spent together. They even hung out one night at Craig’s apartment and just watched shitty B movies until they both inevitably passed out on his couch. That morning Tweek was woken up by the sound of a camera shutter, and looked up to find Clyde, who was also Craig’s roommate, taking pictures of the two of them snuggled up together. 

He’d only barely gotten the chance to whisper, “I have to send this to Token,” before Craig was up and struggling against Clyde for his phone, threatening physical harm if he didn’t delete it. Tweek saw the blush on his face, though, and was sure to tease him about it once Clyde had retreated into his room. Tweek was also sure Clyde didn’t delete the picture, so he made sure to get it from him before he left.

Tweek was also happy because he finally got the chance to hang out with Kyle. He was thrilled that the redhead wanted to meet up with him outside of class now that the semester was over. Not only that, though, but he got to meet Stan and Wends, and Tweek couldn’t help but notice that Kyle very clearly had a type: black hair and light eyes, stan’s being blue and Wends’ being hazel. He couldn’t really talk though, pot meet kettle and all that. 

They were both great people, though. Stan was very built, informing Tweek of his participation in sports and other physical activities. Tweek was a little surprised to learn that he was pursuing a veterinary degree. Wends was very similar to Kyle himself, very kind and well-spoken, but it was also obvious to Tweek that they were very intelligent. However, unlike Kyle, who was a computer science major, Wends was getting her degree in political science. She held very strong opinions and views but was still a very open and caring person, Tweek learned. Seeing as Tweek and Kyle hadn’t really talked much about the redhead’s relationship, Tweek asked about how the trio met. He’d always been curious, but was sure the story was far too deep and complicated to bring up during a simple study session. And, boy, was he right. Both Stan and Kyle blushed furiously at the question. Wends rolled their eyes affectionately before launching into the story. 

Kyle and Stan had been best friends before they even left the womb, their mothers being very close with each other. Wends and Stan had been in an on and off relationship since elementary school, their longest run being two years before the three of them became an item. Kyle realized early on that he clearly wasn’t straight and that he had a massive crush on his best friend, unbeknownst to either Stan or Wends. 

It wasn’t until Stan and Wends got back together in their junior year of high school that everything came to a head. They’d been dating for a good couple of months, when they felt themselves starting to drift again. Kyle having found himself growing close with Wends, too, over the years, was actually pretty oblivious to the chasm forming in his two friends’ relationship. Whenever the three of them were together, they both seemed so happy, and of course neither of them wanted to bring Kyle into their relationship issues, especially since neither of them really knew the problem for the longest time. 

So, imagine his surprise when, on one evening in the middle of the summer, Stan and Wends both showed up at his doorstep both admitting their mutual attraction to the redhead. When they’d both finally talked to each other about their relationship, they both came to the same conclusion together: something was missing in their relationship, and that something was Kyle. The two black-haired teens asked Kyle if he’d wanted to be a part of their relationship, and the rest was history. 

The story warmed Tweek’s heart to no end. He couldn’t imagine going through all that, but he was so happy that everything worked out for them. Just seeing the way they all looked at each other when one of them talked was mesmerizing. He wondered if Craig would ever look at him like that. 

Tweek left that particular lunch feeling warm and fuzzy all over just from being in the presence of such a long and carefully crafted relationship. It was a beautiful thing, and he could only hope that someday he’d have something like that. His thoughts travelled back to Craig.  _ He wouldn’t mind having that with Craig.  _

 

It was Thursday night two weeks after school ended, and Tweek was just getting into bed after a long and busy day at work. He was excited for his day off tomorrow because he’d been working all day every day this week to make up for the time he took off last week. Just as he was about to wrap himself up in his comforter, his phone rang from his night stand. He looked at the caller ID and was slightly shocked to see Bebe’s name. So, his brows furrowing in curiosity, he answered the phone. 

“Hello?” he asked into the receiver. He couldn’t keep the confusion out of his tone. 

“Hey, Tweek,” she replied, her voice had an unusual, serious air to it that Tweek hadn’t really heard in a while. 

“Is something wrong?” his voice now lacing with concern. This tone couldn’t be good, and just hearing it was causing his anxiety to spike. 

“No, nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to call and tell you that my mom called and asked when we’d be coming home.” 

And, while normally one would be happy to hear those words, Tweek himself found his heart rate picking up. With all the fun and working he’d been doing, he completely forgot about the fact that he’d have to think about going home soon. “Oh… um. Well, I don’t know. Did you tell her anything?” 

“I told her I’d talk to you about it first, and whatever you decide, I’d let her know.” 

Tweek breathed a sigh of relief. He was eternally grateful for his best friend and her mother, both some of the most understanding and caring people he’d ever met. “Um, well, can you give me a bit? I need to think about it.” 

“Of course, hon. You take as much time as you need. You know us; mom and I are patient people,” Tweek could hear the reassurance in her voice, and it really helped Tweek more than she’d ever know. 

“Thanks, Bebe. I’ll get back to you about it soon, alright?” 

“Sure thing. I’ll see you later. Good night! Love you, bro.” 

Tweek smiled softly to himself and gave her a short, “Night. Love you,” before hanging up the phone and setting it back down on his nightstand. 

He really didn’t want to think about going home, but he knew he should eventually. Unfortunately, going home meant the possibility of running into his parents and being forced to relive painful memories he’d spent years in therapy trying to work past. 

He couldn’t even think about his childhood without his whole body shaking, although, considering that he used to get panic attacks whenever he thought about it, the shaking was definitely an improvement. 

**His thoughts travelled back** to when he was only 10 years old and having meth-laced coffee practically shoved down his throat by his parents in the back of their coffee house. He was unknowingly consuming more drugs and caffeine than even a fully grown adult could handle, and had been for as long as he could remember. He was honestly convinced that he was being shovelled that shit from the moment his mother was discharged from the hospital, not that he ever asked them for confirmation. His drug use, of course, led to developmental problems that he honestly wouldn’t have been able to handle if not for the numerous (non-narcotic, obviously) medications he’d been on ever since he started therapy. He felt a constant sense of paranoia, constant bodily twitching, and would often have blackouts where he would wake up having clawed a good portion of skin off his own arms and legs. His parents never helped him. The most frustrating thing was how calm his parents always were about his issues, just brushing off his problems like they were nothing or they were just the simple little quirks one has as a kid. 

He found out about his parents’ illegal activities when he was 12. He confided in Bebe about his newfound knowledge, and she convinced Tweek that it would be a good idea to tell her mother, who’d practically been raising Tweek since he and Bebe came into contact in preschool. When she found out, her immediate reaction was to call the police, but Tweek didn’t want that. He begged and pleaded that he didn’t want to deal with the legal proceedings he would inevitably have to face if they took the info to the police, he just wanted to get away from his parents. So, Ms. Stevens made the decision (after a long discussion with Tweek) to confront the Tweaks themselves. She threatened to get the law involved and have them both arrested for not only the drugs, but the absolute hell they’d forced upon their son, unless they agreed to relinquish custody of the young boy to her. Of course, caring more about their reputation as a coffee business than their own son, they agreed almost immediately. 

When Tweek packed up all of his things and left his childhood home for the last time, he thought maybe his parents would be able to give him the slightest bit of sincerity that he’d been hoping for his whole life. But, that was too much to hope for apparently. The only farewell he got was an insincere, “Goodbye, son. Your mother and I will miss you around the shop.” Tweek never looked back. Almost immediately after the custody was given, Tweek was put into a rehab program at his own insistence. He didn’t want to keep living life as an addict, he was only 12 for christ’s sake. 

That following year was one of the worst years of his life. He spent most of his time moving between the facilities and the hospital; his body had been subjected to drugs for so long that it really didn’t know how to function without them.  There were so many times he swore he was on the verge of death, that he even sometimes wished for it. However, against all odds and with the unending support of his new parental guardian and his best-friend-turned-sibling, he made it, and he was all the better for it. 

After returning home from rehab, he cut off all contact with his parents. Whenever they’d see him in the street around town, they talked to him like nothing was wrong, and still couldn’t even put in the effort to even pretend they cared about him in the slightest. They’d make offhand comments about his absence in the coffee business taking a toll on them, or how no one could make a cup of coffee like he could. He eventually got really good at picking their appearances up from down the street and maneuvering himself as far away from them as possible. They didn’t even try to help him at all when  _ the incident _ occurred in freshman year of high school, but he  _ really _ wasn’t about to delve into that whole mess when he’s already dealing with  _ this _ onslaught of distress. 

He hadn’t even told them when he left for college. They didn’t deserve to know where he was going or what he was doing with his life. So, with extensive therapy and six years of sobriety under his belt, he applied to school in California, and moved away the first chance he got. 

As soon as he felt the instinctive twitch in his hand as it began it’s ascent up his forearm, nails digging into his flesh, he snaps himself out of those memories.  _ He really didn’t want to think about it anymore. _ He’d been doing well with not thinking about any of that for a while now, and going back on those memories was the first stepping stone to a relapse that he wasn’t too keen on experiencing again. 

He laid back down on the bed, wrapping himself tightly in his large comforter before folding his arms underneath him, placing his entire body weight on them and keeping his hands clasped together. It was an old prevention method he used when he slept as a kid after the millionth time of waking up, screaming and caked in his own blood. 

He stared at the ceiling for a while, willing himself to not think about anything, a feat that he’d once found difficult, but now was a second-nature coping mechanism.  **He didn’t know exactly** what time it was, but he was sure he could feel the first few rays of sunlight on his eyelids right before he passed out from exhaustion. 

When Tweek woke up, he felt awful. He usually got a sense of anger bubbling up in his stomach whenever he unloaded those memories, and he knew that if he couldn’t get this anger out of his system, he’d probably end up hurting himself or, god forbid, someone else. So, after he got up and made himself a quick breakfast (not that he could really stomach anything), he called Bebe. He knew she was probably up, as she was typically a very early riser, taking her time to sometimes go for a run.

She picked up almost instantly, “Good morning! What’s up?” He was relieved to hear that she hadn’t been running, because he would’ve felt bad about his next request. 

He began digging in his drawers, propping his phone between his shoulder and his cheek. He pulled out an old pair of gym shorts and a tank top, “Bebe, we’re going to the gym.” 

 

After about an hour, Tweek was dressed in his old, and rather worn out, work-out clothes, he and Bebe arrived at the gym, equipment in hand. He hadn’t been to a gym in a year almost. He used to go all the time with Bebe for years, having taken up boxing not too long after the end of his rehab. He found that, seeing as he had stores of pent-up energy and anger, boxing was a very healthy coping mechanism for him. Bebe, always having been rather fit and wanting to exercise, was more than happy to start out their very own routine of working out together with the personal equipment Bebe’s mother had invested in when they were too young for an actual gym, and taking trips to the gym together once they were. 

They hadn’t had a chance to go together since before the end of senior year, both so swamped with schoolwork and preparing for college to find the time. Sometimes, though, when either Tweek or Bebe was especially stressed over something, they’d pull out the old, barely functional, equipment from when they were kids and work out at home. Both he and Bebe had become pretty toned over time, and it really helped Tweek’s insecurities about his appearance. 

But on that particular morning, Tweek was jazzed up and ready to hit something. After his blissful few months of forgetting about his hometown issues, his usual methods wouldn’t work after being so suddenly thrust back into those painful memories. 

Tweek and Bebe spent most of the day taking turns switching between machines. They both were particularly fond of the seated leg press and hanging leg raise machines, though Tweek found himself also using the chest press while Bebe was doing her usual reps of squats (“You don’t get an ass like this without working for it.”). 

After Tweek had finished his last rep on the leg press and was about to make his way to the large punching bag in the far corner of the gym, his phone started to ring. He had almost forgotten about the outside world there for a bit, more focused on his encouraging banter and playful teasing with Bebe to get him through this workout, almost pushing his frustration out of his body with his own strength. He looked at the phone and saw that it was none other than Craig. Tweek was surprised he was awake that early, seeing as it was still fairly early in the morning. Regardless, he answered the phone and placed it in the crook of his neck while he pulled out and donned his gloves. 

“You’re up early,” he says, attaching the velcro of his left glove. When they’re both secure, he grabs the phone back in his hand. 

“Yeah, I know. It’s not by choice, I promise.”

Tweek lets out a small chuckle, setting himself on a bench near the punching bag. He figured it would probably be easier to hit it if he wasn’t on the phone, so he’d wait until the call was finished. 

“Where are you? It sounds kinda loud.” 

“Oh! Bebe and I are at the gym. I woke up this morning really in need of a workout,” he says scratching the back of his neck. He really didn’t want to get into the real reason of this trip, but he knew Craig wasn’t going to ask anything else. 

“I didn’t know you went to the gym,” Tweek could hardly make out the sentence behind a loud yawn. 

He shrugged to himself before he remembered that Craig couldn’t see him, “I mean, I haven’t been recently. I haven’t been since before I came to LA, but I used to go all the time.”

“That’s right, you boxed as a kid, didn’t you? I bet you kick ass, dude,” Craig’s smile was clear through his voice. “I’d let you kick my ass.” 

The serious tone Craig put into that one sentence had Tweek choking on his saliva as a bark of laughter burst from his chest. After he finally caught his breath, he spoke up again, “I don’t know, man. I don’t think I could kick your ass. You’re, like, twice as big as I am.” 

Craig hummed softly in thought for a moment, “I guess that’s true. But I’m pretty out of shape and squishy in the stomach area. You could probably take me down.” 

“Well, I don’t plan on kicking your ass any time soon, so unless you  _ really  _ piss me off, we won’t have to worry about that.” 

He looked up from where his eyes were locked onto the gym floor to see Bebe walking over to him and taking a seat on the bench next to him. She gestured to his phone with a look of curiosity. He mouthed Craig’s name at her and a smirk formed on her face as she waggled her eyebrows at him. He nudged her playfully with his elbow, then shifted his focus back to his phone where he didn’t realize Craig had been talking.  _ Shit. _

“Sorry, I didn’t catch any of that,” he interrupted sheepishly. He shot Bebe a look, “I was being distracted.” 

“Hi Craig!” Bebe yelled into the phone and, unfortunately, Tweek’s ear. 

Craig chuckled, “Tell her I said hi.” 

Tweek relayed the message, and she smiled. Tweek rolled his eyes, still with a smile on his face, “Anyway, what were you saying?”

“I was saying that the reason I’m awake so early this morning is because my wonderful roommate blasted into my room about 20 minutes ago reminding me that he is hosting a party in our apartment tonight. I remembered that I hadn’t invited you because I was too busy forgetting that it was happening, but seeing as it’s actually happening in…” he trails off for a second, probably checking the time on his phone, “ten hours, I realized that the only way to make this not suck was to invite you to come. Plus Clyde insisted that you have to come so you can meet my other friends.” 

Tweek took in all that information for a moment. He really wasn’t too fond of parties, really, but it really couldn’t be that bad if Craig was inviting him. Tweek told him on several occasions about his disdain for loud noises and large crowds. Really, though, a party might be good to keep his mind off of everything, let alone spending more time with Craig. His boyfriend was usually pretty good at clearing his mind and calming him down.

He looked over at his best friend for a moment, it’d probably be better if she was there. Plus, she had been harassing him about meeting Craig. He moved the receiver away from his mouth and spoke to her, “I was just invited to a party. You wanna come?” 

Her face lit up, “Fuck yeah! I haven’t been to a good party in ages!” 

Tweek chuckled softly before speaking back into the phone, “Can Bebe come?” 

“Yeah, sure. As Clyde always says ‘The more the merrier. Especially if they’re cute girls.’ Though I’ve never really seen Bebe, so I can’t comment on her ‘cuteness,’” Craig tried and failed to hold back another loud yawn. 

Tweek snorted to himself, looking over at Bebe for a moment and shrugging, “I don’t know, she’s alright I guess.” That earned him an elbow to the ribs, only making him laugh more.

He heard Craig’s low chuckle through the speaker of his phone, “I guess I’ll just have to take your word for it and pass that info onto Clyde. But I’ll do that later. I’m going back to sleep because fuck Clyde. I’ll text you later, okay?” 

“Yeah, get some sleep, ya lazy bum. I’ll talk to you later,” he hung up his phone and slid it back into his bag. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope y'all enjoyed. Sorry if any of the content in this chapter was hard to read, I understand. I do really appreciate you getting through it, though. Thank you.  
> I'm just starting to get into some angst here, I have a lot more planned, so this ain't even the tip of the iceberg. However, there will be a little bit of fluff in the next chapter before we get into it. Brace yourselves.  
> Lemme know if you notice any mistakes or anything so I can fix them.
> 
> If you'd like, you can talk to me on tumblr. Come talk to me; I'm lonely.  
> http://buttsfodays.tumblr.com/  
> or if you want some of my sweet SP art, my art blog.  
> http://artfobutts.tumblr.com/
> 
> Have a lovely day~


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who's back   
> back again  
> i am back  
> from the dead

Leaving the gym some time in the early afternoon, Tweek was feeling considerably better. There was just something so wonderful about taking out his frustrations through violence against inanimate objects. It was almost like dealing out his anger on the ones who really deserved it, but without all of the guilt of actually beating the shit out of anyone.   
Bebe took him back to her house as they’d agreed when they first made plans for the gym that morning. She’d been renting out a room in a small house with a girl she had met on one of her first excursions to LA at the end of senior year to go apartment hunting. Red, a tall and lanky girl with bright firetruck-red hair, had been looking for a roommate in the house she’d been staying in, some property her parents owned and allowed her to stay in for a discounted rent, with two empty rooms. She’d made the choice to turn the third room into a guest room after it was agreed that her girlfriend, a girl named Millie, would be moving into Red’s own room, and they chose to rent the other room out. Bebe was the first one to answer the ad they put out, and the girls clicked immediately.   
Tweek had only met the two girls a handful of times, though with the amount of time he’d known them, he really liked them both. Red was crass, deadpan, and sometimes actually kind of vulgar and gross, and Millie was sweet and quiet. The first time Tweek had slept over at their house, Bebe had declared an impromptu “girls’ night,” where the four teens spent the night watching teen movies from the 80’s and 90’s and making fun of the movies’ ridiculous portrayals of teenage girls. From then on, whenever Tweek stayed over, if Red and Millie were both there, they would play Truth or Dare with each other, starting out with silly questions to mock the movies they’d all bonded over the first night (“Do you have a crush… on Danny from math?” GASP “Oh gosh, I do… but he’ll never like me, I’m too plain, innocent, and uninteresting…” None of them knew any Dannys from Math), then eventually devolving into a serious game that may or may not have led to Tweek drinking toilet water once.   
Upon entering the house, Tweek noticed Millie and Red curled up on the couch together watching some show Tweek didn’t recognize on TV. He and Bebe both made their way into the living room, giving them each a quick greeting (getting a soft “Hey!” from Millie, and a grunt and wave from Red who most likely only just woke up) before making their way to Bebe’s room.   
Bebe set her gym bag down on her bed before making her way to her bathroom. Tweek pulled his clean clothes from his own bag and went to the spare bathroom by the guest room. He knew his way around the house pretty well, so he didn’t have to ask where anything was.   
He turned on the water as hot as it could go, sometimes he didn’t feel truly clean unless the water was near boiling, especially if he’d been sweating excessively for a few hours. He didn’t want to dwell for too long in the shower, as he and Bebe still hadn’t eaten lunch, and Bebe made the best goddamn food. He was also just fucking exhausted; he’d been running on fumes and anger since the second he woke up. Now that both have been completely depleted, he just wanted to eat lunch and take a nap.   
After scrubbing every inch of his skin and washing his hair, he dried himself and dressed into the sweatpants and t-shirt he’d brought with him. He was assaulted by the wonderful smell of a home-cooked meal as soon as he opened the door and the steam started to dissipate. It honestly reminds him of home, but unlike last night, he only thinks about the good things.   
He’s reminded of Saturday mornings when he’d be woken up to the intoxicating smell of pancakes or eggs and bacon. He remembers how Mom (Ms. Stevens, of course, not the woman that actually birthed him) would make them special meals in tupperware for lunches on days when they had tests or exams just to make them feel better. He remembered how, when things got really bad for Tweek, she and Bebe would make him his favorite meal, mac ‘n cheese with hot dog slices, and bring it to him in his room, and they’d all sit in his room watching cartoons until Tweek was ready to talk about it.   
Yeah. He really missed Mom.   
He made his way into the kitchen where Bebe was at the stove, surrounded by chopped veggies, cheese, and chicken. She glanced over her shoulder at Tweek, “I’m makin’ quesadillas, I hope that’s alright.”   
Tweek smiles and takes a seat at the small kitchen bar, “Bebe, you could cook literal garbage, and it’d probably still taste amazing. Quesadillas are fine.”   
Bebe lets out a soft giggle, “Well, I learned from the best.”   
Tweek just nodded, smile still resting on his face. He stood up and took out a glass, filling it with ice and water from the fridge-door mechanism. When he went to take his seat again, Bebe slid a plate in front of him with a perfectly cooked quesadilla with a side of salsa and sour cream because she knew Tweek didn’t like it to be on top or it made the tortilla too soggy.   
He inhaled the scent of the food before taking his first bite. It, of course, reminded him of Mom again. She’d taught Bebe really well. Once he’d finished chewing and swallowing, he spoke up again, “So, I think I’ve come to a decision.”   
Bebe looked over her shoulder from where she was beginning the preparations for her own quesadilla, “Oh yeah?” If Tweek didn’t know Bebe as well as he did, he wouldn’t have been able to catch the subtle mix of concern and hopefulness in her voice. “What’re you gonna do?”  
“I think I’m gonna go home with you.”  
Bebe turned to him with a soft smile on her face, “I’m glad, but you know you don’t have to, right? Mom won’t be offended, ya know? She understands. We both do.”  
Tweek returned her smile, “No, I know I don’t have to, but I want to. I really miss mom, and...” His face hardened a fraction, “...and I can’t spend my whole life avoiding those assholes. I won’t let them have that power over me.”  
Bebe lowered the temperature on the stove too keep the quesadilla from burning while she quickly made her way over to Tweek and pulled him into a hug. Bebe was taller than him, not that it was hard, so when the two of them hugged, he was at the perfect height to bury his face into her shoulder, a habit he developed very early on in a half-assed attempt to hide himself from the world around him.   
When she finally pulled back, Tweek looked up into her eyes, “You know how much I love and appreciate you and mom, right?”   
“Of course, little bro,” Bebe smiled and placed a small peck on his forehead before returning to the stove to finish making her own food.   
He returned his attention to his own quesadilla, taking another large bite just as Red walked into the kitchen with an empty mug to place in the sink. She stretched her arms over her head and lightly bumped Bebe’s hips with her own as she passed to lean against the side of the bar opposite Tweek, “So what’re you two up to this fine afternoon?”   
While Tweek struggled around his mouthful of food, Bebe spoke up, “We’re just chillin’ for now. Tweek got invited to a party later, and I’m gonna tag along just for fun. And I’m finally gonna meet Tweek’s boyfriend.”  
Red’s eyes widened a fraction, “No shit! Blondie got a beau.” She smirked at him as he swallowed down a lump of food.   
“Uh.. yeah. We’ve only been dating a couple of weeks, but he’s great. His roommate’s throwing a party, and he invited me because I guess his friends wanted to meet me. Well, everyone except Clyde because he’s already met me.”   
Red’s eyes narrowed, and she eyed Tweek intensely, “What’s his name, and what does he look like?”  
Tweek averted his gaze, unable to hold hers for very long, “Um… his name’s Craig. He’s really tall, he’s got black hair and green eyes. Oh! I can show you a picture!” He hurried to pull out his phone, turning on the screen where his background was the picture Clyde had taken of him and Craig asleep on the couch.   
Red stared at the screen for a second before bursting out in laughter. It was so powerful that she was almost thrown back by it for a moment before she leaned forward pounding the counter with her fist. Tweek jumped a foot in the air at the exclamation, and pulled his phone to his chest quickly to avoid dropping it and breaking it any more than it already was.   
“What’s so funny?” he asked quietly as soon as the laughter had died down.   
“Dude! Oh my god! I cannot believe this!” she pulled out her phone and immediately started looking for something. She turned around the phone, showing the screen to Tweek. It was a picture of a group of people posing in two rows. The back row was full of adults he didn’t even remotely recognize. But his eyes fell on the three people in the front row. His eyes widened to the size of saucers when he saw Red standing between a girl with short strawberry blonde hair done up in pigtails and none other than his own boyfriend, Craig.   
Tweek just looked back and forth between the phone and Red, the confusion he felt no doubt plastered on his face. He watched idly as Red reached up and pointed first to the young girl standing on her left, “That’s Ruby. Well her actual name’s Tricia, but nobody calls her that,” she then points to Craig, “She’s his little sister.” She then just vaguely gestures at the three in the picture, “We’re cousins.”   
“No fuckin’ way,” Bebe piped up, looking first at the picture, then back and forth between Tweek and Red. “This is so unfair. My fucking roommate knew your boyfriend before I did!”   
Tweek rolled his eyes, and looked at Bebe, “You roommate knew my boyfriend before I did.”   
“I totally did. But, that aside, I guess we’ll all be at that party tonight, Millie’s comin’ too. See you losers when it’s time to leave,” she smirked and pushed herself up off the counter before making her way out of the kitchen.   
Tweek just slumped his shoulders slightly, and went back to eating his quesadilla. 

Tweek was nervous for the party. Craig had texted him later in the day once he’d officially woken up telling him that it was going to be mostly held at the pool in their apartment complex. Tweek still didn’t own a single piece of swimwear, so he was just wearing the jeans and alien-print t-shirt he’d brought with him after the gym. Tweek also made sure to ask if there would be any alcohol or anything, so in case there was anything, he could mentally prepare himself. When he was given the affirmative, Bebe agreed to keep herself sober so, if at any point he was overwhelmed and needed to leave, she could make sure he got home safe. It was a routine they’d perfected countless times throughout high school whenever Bebe, the social butterfly she was, brought him to any parties she was invited to. He had told her countless times how grateful he was that she’d sacrifice a night of “boozin’ it up” to look after him. Of course it sometimes made him feel like a burden, but that was a feeling he was very familiar with and almost used to.   
Tweek’s hands were shaking slightly as the four of them all approached the pool area of the complex. Luckily Red and Millie knew the way really well, relieving Tweek of the anxiety of possibly getting lost. He could hear the music growing louder the closer they got, though he could tell that it wasn’t even near as loud as Tweek had come to expect from gatherings of this type.   
As they entered the area, lead by Red, they were immediately rushed by Clyde who pulled both Red and Millie into a bear hug, “Hey, dudes! I’m so glad you all could make it!” His face lit up more than Tweek would've ever thought possible when his eyes landed on him. “Tweek!” he exclaimed, shouting louder than he needed to seeing as Tweek was less than three feet in front of him, then pulling him into a hug, too. Tweek tensed up a little, never really one for physical contact in most cases, and was relieved that Clyde had apparently picked up on it and pulled away immediately, his smile never faltering for a second.   
“I’m glad you made it,” his eyes shifted to Bebe standing next to Tweek. Tweek tried not to giggle at the blush that immediately covered his face and the absolutely lovestruck expression on his face. He held out his hand to her for a handshake. “You must be Bebe. I heard you’d be coming, but I didn’t expect you to be so attractive.”   
Clyde’s eyes widened, and he cleared his throat once it really registered what he’d said, “Sorry, I’ve had a few beers already, that was kind of inappropriate.”   
Bebe blushed and giggled, reaching out to take his hand, “I hope that doesn’t mean you’re thinking about taking it back.”  
Again, Clyde’s face lit up, his huge smile morphing back onto his face and still not letting go of Bebe’s hand, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”   
Tweek rolled his eyes and softly cleared his throat, pulling Clyde’s attention away from Bebe for a second, “Sorry to interrupt, but, um, can you point be in the direction of my boyfriend, please?”   
“Oh! Right, yes! This way!” he said, turning quickly, probably trying to hide a twinge of embarrassment at being caught ogling, and gestured for Tweek and Bebe to follow. The shorter blond hadn’t even noticed that Red and Millie had wandered off, and was thoroughly surprised when he saw them ahead, talking to Craig. When the approaching group were only a few feet away, Clyde cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, “CRAIG TWEEK IS HERE.” Tweek just about jumped out of his skin at the exclamation, and let out a loud yelp.   
Craig didn’t even flinch at Clyde, but he turned slowly to him, eyes sparked with interest. His eyes practically lit up when they met with Tweek’s, but his face remained in its normal air of disinterest aside from the faintest hint of a smile.   
There were a few people around Craig that Tweek didn’t recognize. Red and Millie he knew, obviously, but there was also a tall, though not quite as tall as Craig, guy with dark skin and neat looking dreadlocks pulled up into a ponytail, and a guy with short, messy brown hair with what Tweek assumed were his own crutches resting at the foot of his pool chair. Craig turned back to them, saying something Tweek couldn’t really make out, before standing and making his way over to the other group. He immediately landed a punch on Clyde’s shoulder upon arriving, then went over to Tweek and placed a light kiss on his cheek.   
Tweek felt his face heat up when he looked over at the group Craig had been talking to and found them all staring at him. He gave Craig a smile, trying to keep his unease at the attention off of his face. He apparently wasn’t doing a very good job though, because Craig only gave him a slightly confused look before following his eyes and flipping them all off.  
He looked back to Tweek, then past him to Bebe. He gave her a small smile that was laced with his own brand of uneasiness and held out his hand for her to shake, “Hey, uh, you must be Bebe. I’ve heard a lot about you.”   
She beamed at him and took his hand, “You must be Craig. I’ve heard my fair share about you, too.”   
“Only good things, I hope,” he said. If Tweek didn’t know any better he’d have thought Craig was nervous. That kind of made sense, of course, Tweek was practically bursting with anxious energy at the thought of meeting all of Craig’s friends. Plus, Bebe could be particularly intimidating if she wanted to be; Tweek hadn’t ever been on the receiving end of it, but he had seen it firsthand.   
She lets out a giggle, “Only good things. So far, at least.”   
“Well, I’ll do my best to keep it that way,” he lets out a breath of relief and gives her a smile, still riddled with nerves.   
Bebe’s face turned deathly serious for a split second, “You better.”   
Tweek nudged Bebe with his elbow giving her a look that he hoped pleaded Please for the love of god do not scare this boy off. She apparently got the message, though, because the next second she was laughing, loud and boisterous, “I’m kidding! You seem like a great guy, Craig. And Tweek really likes you, so you’re okay in my books.” There’s a beat of silence between them before Bebe added a bit darkly, “For now.”   
Craig nodded and gulped, “Yeah… uh… thanks?”   
She smiled at him before walking past the two of them and making her way over to Red and Millie who were talking with Clyde.   
“Jesus Christ, she is terrifying,” Craig whispered to Tweek, eyes wide.   
Tweek rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, she gets kind of, um, protective?”  
“I mean, hopefully I won’t give her a reason to unleash her wrath upon me.”   
Tweek smiled softly at him and took his hand, “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you from the wrath of Bebe.”   
Craig smiled back at him and squeezed his hand gently, “Thanks, babe.”   
Both Craig and Tweek blush at the name. Tweek clears his throat, “That’s a new one.”   
Craig just nodded, not meeting Tweek’s eyes as he let out a soft, “Mhm.” He looked so embarrassed, and it was so goddamn adorable.   
Tweek’s smile widened, and he stood up on his tippy toes to plant a kiss on Craig’s cheek, “I like it. Though I still don’t think it tops ‘Hot Stuff,’”   
Craig groaned, “I’m still mortified.”   
Tweek just laughed, but it was full of adoration. He shook his head, “No, I love it. It’s fine.”   
Craig rolled his eyes. His face was still flushed, but he was trying to hard to keep the smile off his face. “Whatever. We should probably go over there. Token and Jimmy are kind of excited to meet you.”   
Tweek gulped at that, his anxiety resurfacing. He’d almost forgotten that it wasn’t just the two of them there during their short conversation. He looked over at the other group of people, thankful to see that no one was really staring at them anymore. Fuck, this was a lot of pressure.  
Craig, noticing his boyfriend’s trepidation, gently placed a hand on his shoulder, “Hey, they’re really not that bad. They’re great guys. Red and Clyde are probably the worst, and you apparently already know both of them. Plus, if it gets to be too much, we can just go hang out in my apartment and watch shitty movies and play with Stripe and Andromeda.”   
Tweek smiled gratefully at Craig, his nerves calming a little. He nodded, squeezing Craig’s hand in his own shaky one. He only hesitated for a moment before following after Craig who was leading him to the others.   
Craig led him to the tall black guy and the boy with the crutches. They both stopped talking to each other and looked up at he and Tweek. Craig gestured to Tweek with his unoccupied hand, “This is Tweek.” He moved his hand again, gesturing this time to the boy in the chair, “This is Jimmy,” then to the tall guy next to him, “and Token.”   
“Hey, Tweek. It’s great to finally meet you!” Token held out his hand for Tweek to shake. He gave Tweek a wide, reassuring smile that showcased his bright and perfect teeth. The blonde couldn’t help but notice how handsome Token was. It was kind of intimidating.   
“Um, hi. It’s great to meet you, too,” he mumbles, trying his best to hold eye contact. He took Token’s hand and, while he expected the usual attempt to crush his precious phillangies, he was surprised by how firm, yet gentle it was instead.   
“I-it’s like m-muh-mmm-meeting b-bigfoot or suh-something,” Tweek hears the boy in the beach chair speak up from beside him. The boy pushes himself up with his hands before extending one out to Tweek.  
Tweek takes it, though he was thoroughly thrown off by the comment. He gives him a confused look, quickly looking over at Craig as if that would give him some kind of explanation, but only getting a shrug in response.   
Jimmy, catching the look continued, “B-because you s-suh-see pictures a-and hear st-stuh-sto-ories, buh-but can’t r-ruh-really be sure i-it’s real uh-until you s-see it for yourseh-- fuh-for yourseh-eh-- with your o-own eyes.”   
Tweek was kind of taken aback for a moment. That was probably the weirdest greeting he’d ever gotten, but he’d damned if it wasn’t also one of the funniest. He couldn’t help the laughter bubbling up from the back of his throat. He feels it burst from his mouth in a fit of giggles.   
When he looked over at Craig, he was making a conscious effort to keep a straight face while the whole thing was turning red. Tweek smirked at him, gently nudging him with his elbow, “You talk about my so much that I’ve gained cryptid status?”  
Token smirks, “Oh yeah. Craig just can’t shut up about you sometimes.”   
Craig looked down at the ground for a second, hunching his shoulders and trying to hide his apparent face. “I don’t appreciate being called out like this,” he grumbled, voice barely audible.   
Tweek really tried his best not to laugh. He really did.   
Craig flipped them all off.   
They eventually moved on, Craig dejectedly taking a seat in an unoccupied pool chair. Tweek joined him, the two squeezing together thanks to Tweek’s small stature. The two found themselves slipping easily into conversation with the others around the pool.   
Unfortunately, as the night wore on, the people around them started to get very inebriated. There were so many people jumping and drunkenly flailing in the pool that Tweek had no idea how he’d managed to stay dry. Craig hadn’t been drinking because, as he told Tweek, he had work tomorrow, and he couldn’t handle a hangover on top of that. He’d given Bebe his permission to partake, given that Craig promised to look after him. He was slightly entertained to watch her and Clyde drunk flirting at some point in the evening, but didn’t really want to be around this many drunk people. He was starting to feel anxious.   
“Do you think we could go back to your apartment? I don’t really like being around drunk people,” he whispered, squeezing Craig’s hand in his.   
Craig nodded, standing and pulling Tweek up after him. The blonde was thankful Craig hadn’t asked why; he wasn’t really looking forward to indulging Craig in all of his personal issues this early on in their relationship.   
Craig told his friends that he was leaving which earned him a wide range of responses, from just acceptance to Clyde calling him a spoilsport. The two of them also stopped off to tell Bebe of them leaving. She told him to be safe and she loved him before giving him a tight hug. And with that, Tweek and Craig left, making their way up the stairs of the apartment building.   
The two of them settled in Craig’s room. Tweek immediately going to the cage of Craig’s pets, smiling at their wheeking. While Craig got to work setting up his TV so they could watch something, Tweek pulled out the small creatures, cradling them both in his hands while he settled himself against the headboard of Craig’s bed.   
Craig pulled up some random shitty horror movie on Netflix before he settled in, too, next to Tweek. Andromeda, who had been resting with Stripe in Tweek’s lap, crawled over into Craig’s as soon as he sat. Tweek watched as she raised on her hind legs, wheeking loudly, while Craig gently lifted her and placed her on his shoulder.   
The two boys watched the movie together, making comments about dumb characters, shitty music, and bad camera work until the movie ended. The pulled up another one, continuing in their own personal Mystery Science Theater 3000 until inevitably, Tweek ended up dozing off and falling asleep with his head resting against Craig’s unoccupied shoulder.   
The taller male slowly stood up, careful to gently rearrange Tweek so he was laying down instead of sitting up. He lifted Stripe off of Tweek, taking her and Andromeda back into their cage before quickly changing into his pajamas and carrying out his usual bedtime routines before laying down next to Tweek in the bed.   
He wasn’t sure whether or not he should touch Tweek, as he didn’t want him to wake, but Tweek figured it out for him by curling up against him the second he settled in. He smiled softly at his sleeping boyfriend before wrapping an arm around him and placing a light kiss to his forehead, earning a soft, happy hum from him.   
Craig gave a sigh of content, closing his eyes and inevitably falling into a deep, relaxing sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO sorry this took me so goddamn long. It was half writer's block, half laziness. But it's finally here, I hope y'all enjoyed.   
> As always, lemme know if there are any mistakes so I can fix them.   
> if you'd like, you can talk to me on tumblr.  
> http://buttsfodays.tumblr.com/  
> or if you want some sweet SP art, my art blog.  
> http://artfobutts.tumblr.com/
> 
> Have a lovely day. <3


	9. Just an update.

Hey, guys. Sorry I've been away from this for so long. I started school up again recently, and it's been a lot of work for me. I promise that I haven't forgotten about this, but I will probably be putting this on hiatus for a while. Hope you guys have a great day and stuff! <3


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